Tag Archives: mr-

As climate change broils the Arctic, John Kerry apologizes

by Joe Mosh Posted on May 16, 2013

As climate change broils the Arctic, John Kerry apologizes

By John Upton

ShutterstockOops, it’s melting. Sorry ’bout that.

“Hello, world? Hey, John Kerry here. Just wanted to apologize for all those decades of America’s non-leadership on that crazy global warming thing. But now we’ve decided to start making some nice sounds about the issue. Hope you can hear me making them over the din of the Arctic ice breaking up behind me.”

OK, so the Secretary of State didn’t actually say that. But the leader of the department that will rule on the climate-changing Keystone XL pipeline proposal has begun apologizing for the nation’s lack of progress in tackling climate change.

“I regret that my own country – and President Obama knows this and is committed to changing it – needs to do more and we are committed to doing more,” Kerry said Tuesday, referring to climate change, in a press conference with Sweden’s prime minister.

Kerry is in Sweden to attend meetings in the country’s northernmost city of Kiruna of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum for governments that have a stake in the fate of the fast-melting region. As the Arctic melts, new shipping routes and oil fields are opening up, and the international community is going to need to coordinate and temper the scramble to cash in on these new opportunities.

“We come here to Kiruna with a great understanding of the challenge to the Arctic as the ice melts, as the ecosystem is challenged, the fisheries, and the possibilities of increased commercial traffic as a result of the lack of ice raises a whole set of other issues that we need to face up to,” Kerry said during the press conference. “So it’s not just an environmental issue and it’s not just an economic issue. It is a security issue, a fundamental security issue that affects life as we know it on the planet itself, and it demands urgent attention from all of us.”

The Obama administration on Friday released the National Strategy for the Arctic Region [PDF]. The strategy pledges to “enable our vessels and aircraft to operate … through, under, and over the airspace and waters of the Arctic, support lawful commerce … and intelligently evolve our Arctic infrastructure and capabilities.” All done sustainably and in harmony with other nations, of course. But the 11-page document is not so much a detailed strategy document as it is a vague wish-list for the future of the region, and no federal funds have been committed to turn the strategy’s goals into reality.

That said, the attention that the U.S. is affording the Arctic Council is politically significant. From the BBC:

Mr. Kerry, who held one of the first US Senate hearings on climate change as early as 1988 with then-Senator Al Gore, is hoping to put the spotlight on the issue of climate change again, after efforts to make concrete progress faltered during President Barack Obama’s first term.

Despite a multitude of international crises, Mr. Kerry insisted on attending the meeting of the once-obscure council.

Climate change has countries as far away as India also paying attention to the Arctic — and seeking observer status in the council.

What the Arctic most needs, of course, is a fast and deep cut in the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Actions leading to that — like, say, rejecting the Keystone XL Pipeline — will carry more weight than press-conference words.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who

tweets

, posts articles to

Facebook

, and

blogs about ecology

. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants:

johnupton@gmail.com

.

Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Climate & Energy

,

Politics

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Continued:  

As climate change broils the Arctic, John Kerry apologizes

Posted in Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, solar, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on As climate change broils the Arctic, John Kerry apologizes

Canadian tar-sands exec: ‘We do need Keystone’

by xf0ks040u Posted on May 6, 2013

Canadian tar-sands exec: ‘We do need Keystone’

By John Upton

Shutterstock

/ Christopher KolaczanTar-sands developments such as this one, in northern Alberta, could be expanded if Keystone XL is approved.

The U.S. State Department has curiously asserted that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline wouldn’t significantly affect the development of tar-sands fields in Alberta, Canada. But that assertion is being contradicted by a big player in the Canadian tar-sands industry.

Steve Laut, president of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., told the Toronto Globe and Mail that “we do need Keystone” to be built if the industry is to increase its oil extraction in Alberta. Here’s the quote in the context of the article:

New refinery capacity and pipeline projects coming on line will help demand and prices for Canadian bitumen in the next two years but Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. president Steve Laut says the proposed Keystone XL pipeline will eventually be essential for growth in the oil sands industry.

“Long-term, we do need Keystone to be able to grow the volumes in Canada,” Mr. Laut said in an interview following the release of his company’s first-quarter results on Friday.

Mr. Laut’s emphasis on the importance of Keystone stands in contrast to what others in the industry, as well as the U.S. State Department, have said regarding the project.

Are you listening, State Department?

John Upton is a science aficionado and green news junkie who

tweets

, posts articles to

Facebook

, and

blogs about ecology

. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants:

johnupton@gmail.com

.

Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Business & Technology

,

Climate & Energy

,

Politics

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

See the article here – 

Canadian tar-sands exec: ‘We do need Keystone’

Posted in Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, Pines, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Canadian tar-sands exec: ‘We do need Keystone’

Mr Beams MB360 Wireless LED Spotlight with Motion Sensor and Photocell – Weatherproof – Battery Operated – 140 Lumens

by 0c4g78x Posted on April 9, 2013

[amzn_product_post]

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mr Beams MB360 Wireless LED Spotlight with Motion Sensor and Photocell – Weatherproof – Battery Operated – 140 Lumens

Zojirushi SL-JAE14 Mr. Bento Stainless Steel Lunch Jar, Silver

by Myrna Posted on March 27, 2013

[amzn_product_post]

Posted in Zojirushi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Zojirushi SL-JAE14 Mr. Bento Stainless Steel Lunch Jar, Silver

Zojirushi SL-JAE14 Mr. Bento Stainless Steel Lunch Jar, Silver

by Myrna Posted on March 21, 2013

[amzn_product_post]

Posted in Zojirushi | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Zojirushi SL-JAE14 Mr. Bento Stainless Steel Lunch Jar, Silver

Mr. Beams MB 542 Battery Powered Motion Sensing LED Remote Path Light, 2-Pack

by 0c4g78x Posted on March 14, 2013

[amzn_product_post]

Posted in Mr. Beams | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mr. Beams MB 542 Battery Powered Motion Sensing LED Remote Path Light, 2-Pack

Everyone to Asia: We don’t want your stinkin’ unsustainable palm oil

by 0c4g78x Posted on March 8, 2013

Everyone to Asia: We don’t want your stinkin’ unsustainable palm oil

By Susie Cagle

danielnugent

There’s great news this week for everyone except the people producing tons of unsustainable palm oil: Customers are jumping ship right and left, swearing off of the processed food grease that has become the top cause of deforestation in Southeast Asia.

Dunkin’ Donuts has agreed to phase out the palm oil it stuffs into its sweet, fatty pastry rings. The move came under pressure from the green-minded comptroller of New York state, Tom DiNapoli, who leveraged the state’s investment in Dunkin’ to bring about the change, 350.org-divestment-campaign style.

From the New York Times’ City Room blog:

The comptroller is best known for his role overseeing the state’s pension fund, not for pushing for breakfast-food reform. But in this case, the goals are one and the same: as of last week, the pension fund owned 51,400 shares of Dunkin’ Brands Group worth about $2 million, and Mr. DiNapoli seeks to prod companies in which the fund invests to embrace sustainable practices …

“Consumers may not realize that many of the foods and cosmetics they eat and use contain palm oil that has been harvested in ways that are severely detrimental to the environment,” Mr. DiNapoli said in a statement. “Shareholder value is enhanced when companies take steps to address the risks associated with environmental practices that promote climate change.”

Ironically, Dunkin’ had switched to using palm oil as a kind of healthy alternative (ha) during the Great Transfat Scare of the Mid-Aughts.

This week Norway, too, announced it has divested from Asian palm oil completely, due to environmental concerns. Reuters reports:

“We are very happy with this development in the palm oil sector,” said Nils Hermann Ranum, of Norway’s branch of the Foundation.

Still, he said that Norway should do more to pull out of other sectors that cause deforestation, such as logging companies, oil and gas firms, soy and meat producers.

Palm oil’s gotten too big for its own greasy britches, sending prices into the toilet as the market is “struggling to generate more demand,” according to Bloomberg. Struggle away, palm oil! We’ll find other ways to fatten up our terrible treats.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

Twitter

.

Read more:

Food

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

View this article: 

Everyone to Asia: We don’t want your stinkin’ unsustainable palm oil

Posted in ALPHA, Amana, G & F, GE, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Everyone to Asia: We don’t want your stinkin’ unsustainable palm oil

Meet Obama’s EPA pick: Gina McCarthy

by Pauline80x Posted on March 4, 2013

Meet Obama’s EPA pick: Gina McCarthy

By Susie Cagle

EPAHere’s Gina.

President Obama today nominated Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency. She currently serves as assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation under outgoing EPA chief Lisa Jackson.

Lauded and loathed for her climate work, McCarthy, a 58-year-old Bostonite, has had a big hand in recent critical rules such as new auto emissions standards. She used to work as the top state environmental official for Massachusetts under a Gov. Mitt Romney, and then in the same role in Connecticut under another Republican governor, Jodi Rell. But she’s still mostly a public unknown, which explains why people are so delighted/disturbed by her strong Boston accent.

McCarthy is squarely on the side of fighting climate change through sometimes aggressive policy-making. Her work in Massachusetts helped lead to the landmark Supreme Court case in 2007 that gave the EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. From The Wall Street Journal:

Ms. McCarthy won praise from Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) who worked with her when both were Connecticut state officials. “She recognizes that sometimes there’s a balance that has to be struck between environmental emphasis and economic growth, but she’s convinced the two are often mutually supportive,” Mr. Blumenthal said in an interview.

Ms. McCarthy is liked by environmental groups, which applaud her work at the EPA and her defense of some of the most sweeping environmental rules of Mr. Obama’s first term.

Some industry officials view Ms. McCarthy as a less polarizing figure than Ms. Jackson and say it is better to have an experienced regulator at the helm than an outsider.

The National Journal has a good profile of “pragmatic” but “aspirational” McCarthy and her “ready sense of humor and tough-talking style.” Some “industry officials” like her, but:

McCarthy comes with built-in enemies. If nominated, she’ll face a fiery confirmation hearing from Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The panel’s ranking Republican, Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana, and senior Republican member John Barrasso of Wyoming hail from states where oil and coal production are big parts of the economy—and EPA regulations are viewed as straight-up job-killers.

Vitter has already launched a public campaign of sorts against McCarthy, questioning the scientific methods used in EPA’s regulatory agenda. And in 2009, Barrasso initially blocked McCarthy’s nomination to her current slot at EPA, in part because of concerns about her approach to regulating greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

McCarthy has a history of climate action, but also a history of supporting natural gas and oil drilling à la Obama’s “all of the above” energy strategy. Industry is a little uncomfortable with McCarthy because of her cozy relationships with environmental causes, but some environmentalists question McCarthy’s cozy relationships with industry.

This might make her an effective EPA administrator or it might make her a lightning rod for congressional climate-denialist craziness. Or both! But it seems the brash Bostonite will ruffle some feathers either way.

See McCarthy in action, and hear that accent, as she talks about the dangers of old-fashioned cookstoves in the developing world:

Also read about Obama’s nominee to head the Department of Energy: Ernest Moniz.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

Twitter

.

Read more:

Climate & Energy

,

Politics

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Continue reading:

Meet Obama’s EPA pick: Gina McCarthy

Posted in Accent, ALPHA, Amana, GE, LG, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Meet Obama’s EPA pick: Gina McCarthy

Japan is going nuclear again, Fukushima be damned

by 9ji7g4x Posted on February 28, 2013

Japan is going nuclear again, Fukushima be damned

By Susie Cagle

After the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown, Japanese leaders vowed to phase out nuclear power over the next two decades, but new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe isn’t having any of that.

The reactors at Fukushima.

Speaking to Parliament on Thursday, Abe said nuclear plants around the country would restart after meeting stricter safety standards and instituting upgrades, an expensive process that could take months if not years to complete. Japan used to get a third of its energy from 50 nuclear plants. From The New York Times:

On Thursday, Mr. Abe said that Japan had learned the need for tougher safety standards from the Fukushima accident, which forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate. He said the new safety standards will be enforced “without compromise.”

Mr. Abe also said Japan would continue seeking energy alternatives to reduce its dependence on nuclear power, even without going so far as to eliminate it.

In January, the new nuclear agency [the Nuclear Regulation Authority] released a list of its proposed new safety regulations, which include higher walls to protect against tsunamis, additional backup power sources for the cooling systems and construction of specially hardened earthquake-proof command centers. According to a report by the newspaper Asahi Shimbun, none of Japan’s 16 undamaged commercial nuclear plants would currently pass those new standards.

The newspaper said making the necessary upgrades to meet the proposed guidelines would cost plant operators about $11 billion, in addition to improvements already made after the Fukushima accident. The agency has said the new guidelines will be finalized and put in place by July 18.

Japan has already restarted two of its nuclear plants in order to meet power demands, but given the new safety rules, it’s unlikely that more will open this year. Financial analysts expect that will keep up record demand for natural gas in the country. Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions might go down a bit with the nuclear refire, but there’s still the whole matter of preventing another Fukushima-level catastrophe.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority has released some of the new safety and evacuation guidelines for the next meltdown, including distribution of iodine tablets to people living near nuclear plants, and more strict rules on when residents must leave their homes. Feeling better yet?

Hey, at least reactors sitting directly on top of earthquake faults won’t be allowed to restart …

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

Twitter

.

Read more:

Business & Technology

,

Climate & Energy

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Visit source – 

Japan is going nuclear again, Fukushima be damned

Posted in GE, LG, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Japan is going nuclear again, Fukushima be damned

During the coldest week in decades, some Sandy-damaged homes still don’t have heat

by Pauline80x Posted on January 25, 2013

During the coldest week in decades, some Sandy-damaged homes still don’t have heat

By Philip Bump

It has been 87 days since Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast. The past three of those days have fallen during the coldest week in New York City in 17 years.

From The New York Times:

As the region suffers through a brutal cold snap this week, with temperatures so punishing that uncovered slivers of flesh feel like paper cuts and the slightest wind can send a chill through the teeth like a Popsicle, the best solution seems not to leave home. But for many people whose boilers were flooded by seawater during Hurricane Sandy and still languish, awaiting repair, home is as frigid as the outdoors.

Residents who have made do with cold homes under extra blankets and triple socks since the storm hit in October face new challenges as the thermometer continues to dip. Temperatures this week have been about 10 to 15 degrees lower than midwinter averages, according to the National Weather Service, and are expected to slide into the teens over the next few nights, and could even fall into the single digits in parts of the region.

As of Tuesday, New York City’s Rapid Repairs construction teams had restored heat, hot water or power to 12,247 residences in 7,112 buildings, according to Peter Spencer, the spokesman for the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery. But work is continuing in an additional 1,893 buildings, a substantial portion of which, Mr. Spencer estimated, remain without heat.

Daniel Choi’s house doesn’t have heat, the Times reports. Neither does Devon Lawrence’s. Retired nurse Hazel Beckett is warming bricks on her stove to stay warm.

dvids

Breezy Point, Long Island.

Most of the still-powerless homes are in the areas of New York along the coast, the neighborhoods deluged by storm surge: the Rockaways, Staten Island, Breezy Point. For years before the storm hit, these were the neighborhoods understood to be most at risk, but little was done to prepare them. Now New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is reluctant to rebuild in them. Again, the Times:

“There are some parcels that Mother Nature owns,“ he said earlier this month in his official State of the State speech. “She may only visit once every few years, but she owns the parcel and when she comes to visit, she visits.”

To deal with such intrusions, the governor wants to give homeowners in these areas a choice. New York will help them rebuild a better house — on stilts, for example, higher than future floodwaters. Or they can sell what’s left of their homes to the state and move to higher ground.

Details of his proposal — called the Recreate NY-Smart Home program — are still being worked out, and it is hard to say how many New Yorkers will take him up on his offer to relocate. It is also hard to know how much money Mr. Cuomo will be able to spend per house, since this program will be part of a larger Sandy package that includes protecting subways and utilities and creating a fuel reserve to manage future gas lines.

Should Cuomo need ready-made stories in his push for smarter rebuilding, he could turn to elderly Hazel Beckett and her warmed-up bricks. This is a scene that should never have happened — much less three months after the fact.

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

Read more:

Business & Technology

,

Cities

,

Climate & Energy

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Source – 

During the coldest week in decades, some Sandy-damaged homes still don’t have heat

Posted in GE, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on During the coldest week in decades, some Sandy-damaged homes still don’t have heat