Word comes this week that carbon emissions from U.S. power plants increased by 3 percent in 2007. This was not unexpected. Hydro generation was down. Coal use was up. But the main reason for the increase, according to the Edison Electric Institute, is an increased demand for electricity. This despite energy efficiency programs in virtually every U.S. State and Territory.
In the final standings for 2007 — The Climate Change Performance Index of 2008 — the U.S. came in 55th out of the 56 nations ranked. Here’ s the final box score for team USA:
- 21.44 percent share of global emissions
- 20.47 percent share of global primary energy supplies
- 20.13 percent share of global GD
- 4.61 share of global population
- virtually non-existent national climate policy
A handy summation of humankind’s “rampant human ecological dysfunction” from William Rees, the originator of the “ecological footprint” concept.
… in the 20th century alone the human population quadrupled to over six billion, energy use (mostly fossil fuel) increased by a factor of 16, fish catches (but not fish) increased 35-fold, industrial production expanded 40-fold, agricultural output exploded, etc., and all corresponding waste streams ballooned by equivalent multiples. Result? Soils erode 10 to hundreds of times faster than they develop, the oceans are emptying and acidifying, biodiversity is imploding, natural gas and petroleum are being depleted, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are a third higher than in pre-industrial times and the climate is going into convulsions.We also know at least the crude dimensions of the solution: for example, our best science tells us that to avoid a potentially catastrophic 2 (degree) C increase in mean global temperature, the world community needs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 80 to 90 per cent by mid-century.
Source.Paul Raskin, initiator of the Great Transition essay series offers this:
On the one hand, we inherit the harbingers of a future that is rife with conflict, crisis, and misery—a dangerously damaged biosphere, extreme social and economic inequality within and among nations, deep geopolitical and cultural fissures, and a culture of consumerism that erodes meaning and well-being. On the other hand, we are bequeathed immense aggregate wealth; the power of science and technology; an ethos of equality and freedom; democracy, constitutional frameworks, and law-governed institutions; and the liberation of the human imagination. These assets are the preconditions for a global future based on human solidarity, human fulfillment, and ecological sustainability—a vision we refer to as a Great Transition.
Shareholder resolutions requiring climate policies by leadership of publicly held companies have nearly doubled in the past two years. Story
“Many U.S. companies are confronting the risks and opportunities from climate change, but others are not responding adequately – and they may be compromising their long-term competitiveness as a result. Investors want all companies to understand the business impacts of climate change - and plan for it accordingly.” — ” Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres.
The 4.2 cents per metric ton of carbon dioxide would affect everything from oil refineries to power plants, and landfills, factories and small businesses like restaurants and bakeries. Large businesses that burn lots of fuel and use large amounts of energy would see costs in the tens of thousands of dollars. The proposal comes from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The proposal is designed to raise $1.1 million a year.
I think this is tremendously gutsy….What the air district is doing is what every economist knows is coming - but somebody has to go first. Dan Kammen, director of renewable energy programs at the University of California-Berkeley.
There are costs associated with emitting carbon dioxide, and the people who emit it should pay the costs,” said Carl Pope, national executive director of the Sierra Club.Pope noted that in April the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide is a pollutant that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act just like other chemicals that cause smog. “That ruling is going to trigger a whole series of regulatory responses like this,” Pope said. “This is the first one that has a fee associated with it. You are going to see fees, and emissions standards, and permits for coal-burning power plants turned down. The country has now decided we are going to clean up carbon dioxide like we clean up other types of air pollution.
Coverage from the San Jose Mercury News