Paul Chesser, Climate Strategies Watch
Gregg A. Zank, Dow Corning's vice president and chief technology officer, was so excited in December to be appointed to the Michigan Climate Action Council that he issued a press release:
“The Michigan Climate Action Council is a diverse group committed to examining and understanding climate change issues and how they affect the state of Michigan,” said Zank. “We know there’s no simple answer to this challenge we face, and I’m excited to work with this esteemed group to see what we can learn.”
So excited…
“Exploring climate change and its effects is not only an environmentally responsible action to take, but it also makes solid business sense,” said Zank. “For example, Dow Corning provides products that are critical to the solar industry. By investing in solar we’re able to have a significant environmental impact while providing jobs and economic value for Dow Corning and the community.”
And of course, his company is very excited as well:
The potential of solar energy is almost limitless. A completely renewable energy source that is not dependent on any fuel for its production. As the photovoltaic industry (PV) assumes an increasingly important role in meeting the world's energy needs, Dow Corning is making a difference by helping PV producers grow and succeed…
We are investing to continue to make a difference by expanding our portfolio of total solution packages for cell manufacturing, module assembly and installation. Solution packages include high-performance encapsulants, adhesives, coatings, potting agents and sealants as well as next-generation solar grade silicon. As the largest materials supplier to the PV industry, we service the entire PV value chain from sand to sun…"
What? Silicon tetrachloride, you ask? Did you hear us say "completely renewable energy source?"
Now about those subsidies….
So some White House-types are saying that a "climate change" announcement is imminent, as in the next 24 hours (sort of calling into question the shuffle from yesterday's press briefing).
As Bluto said in Animal House: "Great. Seven years [of college] down the drain."
Surely this will make the French be nice to us?
Tesco has made false claims about the source of the green fuel sold at its service stations, according to an investigation that found that the chain sold one of the most environmentally damaging types of biodiesel.
Black carbon, the stuff that gives soot its dirty color, could be the second most important contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide and a key to preventing warming, at least in the short-run, a new study suggests…Their estimates are well above those in the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and suggest that black carbon has a bigger warming effect than previously thought.
The aid charity, Oxfam, has warned that 60 million people in Asia, Africa and South America are threatened with possible eviction to make way for "green" fuel plantations, whether palm oil, soya or sugar cane.
If you're a scientist trying to convince people they are making the world warmer, Kristen Byrnes is your worst nightmare. She's articulate, intelligent, she has a Web site, and one day her people will be running the world. Her people, meaning 16-year-olds.
China has already overtaken the US as the world's "biggest polluter", a report to be published next month says. The research suggests the country's greenhouse gas emissions have been underestimated, and probably passed those of the US in 2006-2007.
Here’s a government press release about the Baskin Formation, reading in pertinent part:
North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation.
A U.S. Geological Survey assessment, released April 10, shows a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered compared to the agency's 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil.
Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have just discovered a new “ecological gem” to be protected as-is at all costs.
The U.S. is wrestling with the worst food inflation in 17 years, and analysts expect new data due on Wednesday to show it's getting worse. That's putting the squeeze on poor families and forcing bakeries, bagel shops and delis to explain price increases to their customers. U.S. food prices rose 4 percent in 2007, compared with an average 2.5 percent annual rise for the last 15 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And the agency says 2008 could be worse, with a rise of as much as 4.5 percent.
The "credits" sold by EcoSecurities and its rivals are supposed to fund clean-air projects in the developing world that otherwise wouldn't get built. But the U.N. is worried that players in the market may be gaming the system by putting a green imprimatur on some projects that would have happened anyway, defeating the intent of the U.N. program.
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