Wespeak: Obama's for the Environment

Check out Bekka's Wespeak endorsing Obama.

Political Environment

Nate sent the listserv this NYT opinion article on Bush's (in)actions regarding global warming with the exhortation that we contemplate the topic as we head to the polls tomorrow. Speaking of which, in case you missed it, here's a link to Grist's candidate chart and my attempt to make sense of what the hell "cap and trade" actually means.

Contact Your US Representative About Climate Change

In the spirit of the change that Focus the Nation is ultimately trying to bring about, please click here to tell your Congressional Representative that climate change should be a legislative priority.

FOCUS THE NATION + party!

FOCUS THE NATION is finally happening!

Brought to you by EON, the Environmental Studies Program, Long Lane Farm, the Sustainability Advisory Committee, and the Feet to the Fire Project, Focus the Nation is a teach-in day about climate change solutions. The day includes many amazing things like discussions in classes, a keynote speaker, a bunch of panels on the different facets of climate change (such as policy responses, corporate and institutional responses, and social justice) as well as a circus. Yes, a circus.

What: Focus the Nation
When: Thursday, January 31st,
Where: see the nifty schedule for all the day's events

Okay, the other thing I wanted to say is that we're having a PARTY PARTY PARTY (called Hot Spot) at Psi U on Friday (which would be February 1st). Here comes my cheesy line that I'm really proud of: climate change is real...and while not all locations on earth will experience warming, I guarantee that temperatures in Psi U are going to be on the rise this Friday (it actually does get hot in there sometimes, right?). Tickets go on sale TOMORROW in Usdan and will be available for cheaper outside of Focus the Nation events.

The lineup:
10:00 DJ HARRISON SCHAAF
11:30 THE EBB AND THE FLOW
12:30 THE KINKY SPIGOTS

Tickets are:
$ 2 for FTN event attendees
$3 in advance
$4 at the door

Proceeds go to Oxfam America and Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice! Fun fact (kindof): Chris McCandless donated all his savings to Oxfam before he went on his adventure...into the wild. Alllllrighty.

What: Hot Spot Partay
Where: Psi U
When: 10 pm on Friday, Feb. 1st
Entry Fee: $2-$4

How Green is Your Candidate?

Since today is the day of the New Hampshire Primary, I added a green candidates widget to the blog (it's underneath the "Beyond Wes" links section). Check it out! Grist has a really great section on their website about each of the candidates (My favorite part is the chart).

As I was exploring the chart, I realized that I definitely didn't understand what the deal is with the cap-and-trade system and the carbon tax. Well, now what I understand is this:

First of all, there are different types of cap-and-trade. One is called grandfathering, in which carbon credits are basically given to corporations for free. The other is auctioned cap and trade, in which credits are auctioned (duh, I know, but bear with me). Anyway, the difference is a question of who keeps the revenue (with grandfathering, the companies hold on to it). With both the auctioned cap and trade and the carbon tax the government keeps the money.
A big point of difference between the cap and trade system and the carbon tax thing is that the carbon tax provides price certainty (the price of carbon is set) whereas the cap and trade system provides certainty about the actual emissions reductions (all that is from this article, which I found through this article (also informative), which I found through Grist).

There was a lot of back-and-forth about the issue on Grist in early 2007, so if you're interested in reading more, here's a list of some relevant articles.

Gary Yohe's position is in favor of a carbon tax. Here's an excerpt from a Scientific American article that appeared in November:

SA: What is a good policy solution?

GY: I prefer a carbon tax for lots of reasons. I think that it would be easier to administer. There are a few thousand points of entry for carbon in the U.S. economy and a few tens of millions points of entry for carbon into the atmosphere. The revenue from a tax could be used for lots of smart things, like technology research and development or reducing the regressivity of the climate tax by lowering the income tax. You could also pay to reduce the vulnerability of people who work in sectors particularly hard hit by climate policy. Or the carbon tax could be used to underwrite carbon mitigation options; you could, for example, buy back the carbon if someone has taken the initiative to develop a way to capture and store it.
I don't prefer cap and trade in the case of carbon dioxide, even though it worked for sulfur dioxide in this country. Unlike acid rain damage, which depends on current sulfur emissions, all you need in the case of carbon is for the average emissions to fall in a predictable trajectory so their sum over 100 years falls below a desired target. Whether it's high or low in one particular year doesn't matter. It is most economically efficient to allow emissions to bounce around an average as they move along a lowering trajectory. A tax allows that, cap and trade doesn't.

New Year Ushers New Laws Regarding the Environment

New Year's Day brought much more than 2008. Several new state laws and local ordinances regarding the environment also took effect on January 1. Some of the new laws as of Tuesday include:

-Maine retailers must accept used cell phones for recycling
-North Carolina businesses that sell alcohol must recycle beverage containers
-Oregon is including fuel-saving guidelines in its drivers manual, which will be included on future tests for new drivers
-The city of Chicago sales tax on bottled water increased by five cents
-Illinois mandated energy-efficient light bulbs in buildings larger than 1,000 square feet
-Minnesota banned mercury in everything from new stoves and barometers to over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and toiletries

New Laws for Connecticut after Jan. 1 include:

-Expanding a temporary state sales tax exemption for passenger cars that get at least 40 miles per gallon to all passenger trucks and vans with the same fuel efficiency. The exemption runs from Jan. 1 of this year to July 1, 2010.

-The state's secretary of the Office of Policy and Management must prepare a plan to encourage the use of biodiesel heating oil blends in state buildings and facilities.

-A new rebate program will be established for residential electric customers who replace their old air conditioners with ones that meet federal Energy Star efficiency standards. The rebates range from $25 to $100 for room air conditioners, depending on the cost, and at least $500 for residents who replace a central air unit. The program runs until Sept. 1, 2008.

-Each car or light-duty truck in the state's fleet must have a fuel efficiency rating in the top third of vehicles in its class. And between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009, at least 50 percent of the state's purchased vehicles must be alternative-fueled, hybrid, electric or plug-in electric vehicles. It must be 100 percent starting Jan. 1, 2010.

What’s Your Consumption Factor?

Interesting Op-Ed in the Times by Jared Diamond (author of Guns, Germs, and Steel) about the exorbitant—and woefully unsustainable—levels of consumption in the developed world, especially the United States.

Also, here's a good Times editorial about the environmental agendas of the presidential candidates. Thankfully, these issues have garnered much more attention than they ever did in 2000 or 2004, but will widespread environmental concern just be a passing fad like it seems to have been in the 70s? Maybe the realities of global warming will make this time around very different.