Stopping Global Warming Begins at Home

College students disturbed about global warming need look no further than their own campus to take action.

As reported by E Magazine, students throughout the country are working with their campus administrations to reduce their use of fossil fuels. Colleges and universities are not insignificant consumers of electric power. As this article states:

While Ecopledge's work focuses on some of the world's largest polluters, efforts such as these provide students with another avenue to pursue in seeking to reverse global warming.

Getting Away With It

Environmental Working Group reported in a recent publication that refineries, power plants and other large industrial facilities in California that violate clean air laws typically pay penalties lower than what an SUV driver may legally be fined for a smog violation.

Since 1999, the Shell refinery in Martinez, CA and Chevron refinery in Richmond, CA were each issued more than 120 notices of violations, an average of almost two a month. With a median fine of just $1,450 major polluters have accepted the low fines as a cost of doing business. Meanwhile the fine for a motorist who illegally operates a vehicle of more than 6,000 pounds i.e., most larger SUVs, with an exhaust system that fails to meet state standards is $500 to $2,500.

California has set strict standards for mobile emission sources. It is now time that similar standards be erected and enforced for stationary or smokestack polluters.

The Removal of Nuclear Residue from Hanford

In a Mother Jones blog entry Jeff Fleischer reported on the removal of nuclear residue from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. This was an important milestone for many environmental groups including WASHPIRG who have been advocating for the removal of waste from the 149 underground tanks for decades. Despite the victory there is much more work to be done, millions of gallons of solid waste housed in potentially leaky tanks still exist.

Chrysler Going Hybrid

Automotive Fleet e-news reported today that "DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group doesn't intend to cede the growing hybrid car market to rivals such as Ford Motor Co." To date, Chrysler has been emphasizing diesel vehicles rather than hybrids. By focusing on diesel technology, Chrysler is giving up on the critical California and Eastern Seaboard markets; markets where diesel cars cannot be sold because they do not meet stricter air pollution regulations.

In an attempt to meet somewhere in the middle, Chrysler has developed a mild hybrid version of its heavy-duty Dodge Ram and has announced that they will introduce several hybrids. However they would not identify the vehicles Chrysler might choose.

Driving Solo in the Carpool Lane

Today Margaret Talev of the Sacramento Bee reported that Chairman Bill Ford of The Ford Motor Company has launched a campaign to kill a legislative plan. Currently this plan would allow Californians who buy the most fuel efficient hybrid vehicles to drive solo in the carpool lane. In a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger, and copied to state lawmakers, Ford says that this is a "buy Japanese" bill and a "special interest measure...intended for almost exclusive use by Toyota Prius drivers."

Perhaps if Bill Ford improved his fleetwide fuel efficiency he too could drive his American built car solo in the Carpool lane.

Arctic Refuge isn't the Only Area in Alaska That Needs Protection

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, located in the northeastern corner of Alaska, has been the environmental community's top wilderness priority for many years. However, many groups are now looking at the impacts that development would have in other areas of Alaska's North Slope, and efforts have begun to protect the most critical wildlife habitats.

Audubon Alaska has conducted intensive research on an area known as the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, or NPR-A. This area comprises 23.5 million acres on western end of the North Slope, and is the largest block of public land in the U.S. NPR-A was established in 1923 to provide a domestic oil supply, and environmental groups do not oppose all exploration and drilling here. What concerns many wilderness experts is that the federal government appears set to allow these activities throughout NPR-A without any consideration for the significant wilderness values possessed by certain areas with the Reserve.

It looks like we may soon have another Alaskan hot spot on our hands.

L.A. Puts a Lid on Big Boxes

LAANE reports that a new law in Los Angeles will allow the public to consider the full impact of big box development before allowing new sprawling super stores to be built. Wal-Mart likes to talk about its low prices, but communities around new Wal-Mart stores also have to deal with low wages, increased traffic, and increased water pollution.

Loopholes Leave Emissions Untracked

The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) just released an analysis that reveals the EPA's failure to close loopholes in 29 states allowing accidents that cause air pollution to go unpunished and often untracked. Kelly Haragan, counsel of EIP, said: "the off-the-books pollution, caused by unreported and unpenalized 'upsets' is at least as harmful as 'routine' pollution and should not be allowed to evade emission limits designed to protect public health."

'Upsets' often result in large emissions of pollutions over short periods of time and often include toxics and carcinogens. Thirty-seven facilities were studied for this report. These facilities alone released more than 167,133 extra pounds of benzene and 142,754 extra pounds of butadiene during one year's worth of upsets. Both butadiene and benzene are highly carcinogenic. The upset emissions alone from BASF in Port Arthur, Texas makes it the sixth largest emitter of butadiene and the twelfth largest emitter of benzene in the country.

Air pollution limits are designed to keep our air safe, but they can only work if state and EPA loopholes are closed.

Farmers Losing Enthusiasm for GE Corn

Only 1/3 of total U.S. corn acres were planted with a genetically engineered, or GE, corn variety in 2004, according to a new nationwide survey conducted by the American Corn Growers Foundation (ACGF). This is much less than the 46 percent that had been expected.

Farmers in the U.S., where most genetically engineered foods are grown, are facing an increased risk of losing access to foreign markets as consumers abroad continue to shun genetically engineered products. “This survey suggests that U.S. corn farmers may well be taking the concerns and demands of foreign consumers and importers into account in their planting decisions by holding their GMO corn acres to only about a third of the total acres they planted to corn this year,� said Dan McGuire, CEO of the ACGF.

As farmers become increasingly disenchanted with genetically engineered foods, food companies may have greater flexibility to ask their suppliers to provide them with non-GE foods.

Why is Ford Destroying Electric Vehicles?

Our friends at the Jumpstart Ford campaign are trying to save several hundred electric vehicles from the junkyard crusher.

Top Scientific Body Finds that Genetically Engineered Foods Deserve Further Scrutiny

A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences provides further evidence that current U.S. regulations governing genetically engineered foods do not adequately protect public health and the environment from the serious dangers posed by them. The report, Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods: Approaches to Assessing Unintended Health Effects, acknowledges that testing crops for potential allergens should be done "in every case" and suggests various ways in which the current system could be improved.

This press release on the report from USPIRG (U.S. Public Interest Research Group) comments on the validity of the NAS conclusions. Richard Caplan, Safe Foods advocate for USPIRG, says that the NAS suggestions for improving the current system raise the question of why these foods were allowed on the market before they were proven safe:

The report demonstrates that the government is not doing enough to protect us from genetically engineered foods, and shows why companies that use these ingredients need to take action and phase them out of their products.

Global Warming Goes Mainstream

Cover stories in business press highlight need for urgent action

It appears that corporate America is finally realizing that global warming is an urgent problem that must be addressed immediately. Recent cover articles in Business Week and Fortune
discuss the myriad of problems that are associated with our oil addiction and present detailed plans of action designed to reduce our oil use.

The Business Week article in particular provides an excellent review of the nearly unanimous scientific consensus on global warming (i.e., it's happening, we're causing it, and it will wreck havoc on our environment and the world's economy) and concludes with a call for swift and decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Any business leader worth his or her MBA should now be aware that global warming presents profound risks to businesses, and that any business that ignores these risks does so at its peril.

As Business Week puts it: "Get serious about global warming -- or be prepared for the consequences."

Peak Oil Update

Kevin Drum has the latest on Peak Oil.

BuyGoodWood.com

Today Rainforest Action Network launched BuyGoodWood.com, an internet intitiative to encourage more U.S. based companies to purchase environmentally friendly forest products. BuyGoodWood.com profiles Weyerhaeuser (WY), the number one destroyer of old-growth forests in North America as a company whose lead should not be followed. It also provides alternatives -- sources of good wood --- and asks companies to implement policies to no longer log, buy, distribute or sell endagered forest products.

Bush Roadless Rule Rollback Leaves Local Officials Feeling the Pinch

As was written in a previous blog entry, Bush's Ruthless Roadless Forest Rule Repeal, President Bush is attempting to roll back a rule that would prohibit destructive activities in 58 million acres of roadless land in National Forests.

A New York Times article published today documents how this rule change is playing out on the ground in our national forests and local communities.

Click here to read the article: here

President Bush's rule would replace the previous prohibition on logging in roadless areas with an approach that gives local politicians much of the control over what happens in our National Forests. These politicians receive significant money and support from the logging industry, and tend to favor clearcuts as far as the eye can see. As a result, local Forest Service officials, who for now are making decisions about where to allow logging until the court battle over the rules is finished, are under pressure from the logging industry to allow more logging in National Forests.

When is a roadless area no longer a roadless area? When a road has been built through it. The industry may be hoping that it can build a network of roads throughout our roadless areas now so that, even if they lose in court and the Roadless Rule goes into effect, much fewer roadless areas will remain to be protected by it.

Diesels vs. Hybrids

According to The New York Times, cultural lines are determining whether diesel or hybrid vehicles are the best way to improve fuel economy. Japanese automakers, Toyota and Honda, first developed hybrid technology in part to save consumers gasoline money. In a hybrid an electronic motor takes over for the gas engine at low speeds and stops, greatly reducing gasoline expenditures in stop and start driving common in Japan's often dense and congested city streets. Meanwhile, Europeans prefer diesel-powered vehicles, which get better mileage and also avoid the high taxes on gasoline.

Most consumers (regardless of cultural lines) are basing their vehicle preferences on gas money saved. However, environmentalists across the world prefer vehicles with higher fuel efficiency, including but not limited to hybrids. Diesel engines when compared with conventional gasoline automobiles offer lower carbon dioxide emissions (which cause global warming) but don't do well on emissions of smog forming pollutants. Diesel also releases PM10 - a proven carcinogen and criteria pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Gretchen DuBeau, Global Warming Advocate of U.S. PIRG states, "The public health costs do outweigh the benefits of diesel."

As a recent blog entry notes US automakers are way behind in the technology implemented by both Japanese and European automakers. Tom LaSorda, C.O.O of DaimlerChrysler, says the company is still researching hybrids and is pushing for a diesel option. Currently there is no U.S. manufactured hybrid or diesel on the market. The last diesel engine to be offered by any one of the U.S. top automakers was over three decades ago.

A few drops in the bucket

It looks like we were premature in criticizing Ford about the Escape Hybrid. According to the NYTimes, availability of this new SUV has been delayed until October.

How do we get to 40%, or 80%, or -- dare we say it -- 100%? If we can build clean cars, why are we building anything else?

Uncle Sam Wants You to Buy an SUV

And not just any SUV, but a really big, really expensive SUV.

Kevin Drum provides a great summary of this outrageous incentive to pollute.

Bank of America leading in LEED

GreenBiz.com reported today that Bank of America and The Durst Organization have broken ground in Midtown Manhattan on construction of what they say is the world's most environmentally responsible high rise. The high rise will serve as the headquarters for Bank of America's operations in New York City, house its global corporate and investment banking, its wealth and investment management, as well as its consumer and commercial banking business.

I must applaud Bank of America and The Durst Organization, two companies not known for the environmental emphasis, on their environmental commitment and innovation. With an emphasis on sustainability, water efficiency, energy, and indoor environmental quality this high rise will be constructed largely of recycled and recyclable materials. It will include a gray-water system to capture and reuse rain and wastewater as well as a 4.6 megawatt cogeneration plant, providing the building with its own clean and efficient power.

For city dwellers like myself, the incorporation of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental) designs are truly a breath of fresh air.

Ford's Escape Hybrid

Ford is expected to release the Escape Hybrid SUV tomorrow. Coming in at approximately 29 mpg city and 35 mpg highway, this vehicle is somewhat better than the standard Escape, which gets (depending on the model) approximately 23/28 mpg.

The big problem with the Escape Hybrid is that it is a niche vehicle, and global warming is not a niche problem. Ford will produce 20,000 Escape Hybrids in the coming year. During that same time they will produce well over 800,000 F-150 gas guzzlers. Already in 2004 Ford has sold 45,000 more F-150s than they did during the first seven months of 2003.

The release of the Escape Hybrid won't change the fact that Ford has the lowest fleetwide fuel efficiency of any major US automaker. Their fleetwide fuel efficiency is expected to go down again this year, as it has steadily since 1993. That's what needs to change.

Here's the press release that Ecopledge and several of our coalition partners released today.

Ford Can’t ‘Escape’ Lowest EPA Fuel-Efficiency Ranking

At less than one-half of one percent of the most gas-guzzling fleet on the road today, the new Hybrid Escape barely improves Ford’s fleet-wide average from 18.8 to 18.84 mpg

August 4, 2004—As the first of Ford’s gasoline-electric hybrid SUVs roll off its Kansas City assembly line with great fanfare, a coalition of environmental and human rights organizations challenge the company to make a real commitment to increasing the fuel economy of its entire fleet of cars and trucks.

“Ford’s Escape hybrid is a rolling advertisement for better technology and less pollution,’ said Elisa Lynch of Bluewater Network, ‘but it can’t hide the fact that Ford will still have the worst fuel efficiency of any major U.S. producer.�

According to U.S. EPA data, Ford has had the lowest average fleet fuel economy of any major U.S. automaker every year since 1999. With an annual production of only 20,000 vehicles, the introduction of the Escape hybrid is not expected to change that last place showing. Ford produces over 6,000,000 vehicles annually. The Escape SUV will account for less than one half of one percent of the 2005 model year production.

“We’re pleased to see that Ford is bringing a hybrid vehicle to market, but we’re still waiting for its overall plan,� said Jennifer Krill of Rainforest Action Network. “If Ford wants to position itself as an environmental leader, it needs to do more than produce one improved vehicle in limited quantities.�

Even as it was gearing up for the Escape rollout, the company was taking actions to undermine the entire federal fuel economy program. Weighing in on the recent Bush Administration request for comments on the fuel economy program structure, Ford supported maintaining an exemption for trucks between 8,500 and 10,000 pounds, as well as a loophole that permits pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans to meet lower fuel economy standards.

“Ford is supporting the Bush Administration’s proposal to maintain a loophole that blocks our escape from U.S. dependence on oil,� said Gretchen DuBeau of U.S. PIRG.�

Coalition members are dismayed that Ford is moving ahead with plans to confiscate and destroy its 350-vehicle fleet of Th!nk electric vehicles, which have been used by highly satisfied drivers under long-term lease since 2001. The current leaseholders have asked to be allowed to keep the vehicles, and a Norwegian manufacturer and the Norwegian government have asked for Ford to sell them the vehicles. Ford has not responded to any of those requests.

“If Ford were truly serious about increasing fuel economy, it would not be wantonly confiscating and crushing its pure electric vehicles,� said Jason Mark of Global Exchange. “The current drivers love these cars, and there are drivers in Europe who want them, but Ford is destroying them. Ford likes to call its Escape hybrid a ‘no compromise vehicle.’ In fact, by pulling these alternatives off the roads, Ford is compromising our children’s future.�

The groups challenged Ford to take immediate action to increase the fuel economy of its entire fleet using hybrid technologies as well as other conventional technologies that can greatly improve fuel efficiency.

“We wish we could feel more hopeful about Ford’s commitment to reducing oil dependence and carbon dioxide emissions with Ford’s launch of the Escape hybrid,� said Andrew Shalit of Ecopledge. “Unfortunately, the paltry number of hybrids the company is building, combined with the destruction of its pure electric vehicles, leaves us wondering when that day will be.�

Investing in Solar

According to Planet Ark, the United States is narrowing the gap with Japan and Germany, the world's top solar power producers. However, narrowing this gap will mean that more U.S. companies must invest in the global solar business.

And yet, Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest publicly traded energy company dropped out of the solar market because CEO, Lee Raymond believed it not to be profitable. Meanwhile GE, the world's largest publicly traded company proved Lee Raymond wrong. GE expects to profit this year and forecasts sales to top $1 billion annually by the end of the decade.