Climate science openness urged

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8595483.stm

Killer whale (orca) vs. Jaws

http://video.tiscali.it/canali/truveo/2258968856.html

Interior to decide on Alaska drilling

Even as the prez gives go-ahead to drilling off Virginia shore

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/national/article_e5de6f39-8c28-587c-8027-39ec448cad67.html

Not good, either one. This is like building another gas station so that motorists will be able to buy and burn up more fuel.

14 Neb. counties oppose conservation measures

What knuckleheads. The proverbial bottom line? Undeveloped, open, natural land requires nearly zero public services, funded by tax dollars, while yielding untold benefits to society. Hello Nebraska county officials. Article here.

EPA announces phase-in of Clean Air Act permiting for greenhouse gases

I know a few knuckleheads that will shake their heads “no” before climbing into their gas hogs and running errands they could do on foot. Oh well.

Agency reiterates no stationary source requirements until 2011

WASHINGTON – Under a final decision issued today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) no stationary sources will be required to get Clean Air Act permits that cover greenhouse gases (GHGs) before January 2011. EPA has pledged to take sensible steps to address the billions of tons of greenhouse gas pollution that threaten Americans’ health and welfare, and is providing time for large industrial facilities and state governments to put in place cost-effective, innovative technologies to control and reduce carbon pollution. Today’s announcement is the first step in EPA’s phased in approach to addressing GHG emissions laid out by Administrator Lisa P. Jackson earlier this month.

“This is a common sense plan for phasing in the protections of the Clean Air Act. It gives large facilities the time they need to innovate, governments the time to prepare to cut greenhouse gases and it ensures that we don’t push this problem off to our children and grandchildren,” said EPA Administrator Jackson.  “With a clear process in place, it’s now time for American innovators and entrepreneurs to go to work and lead us into the clean energy economy of the future.”

Today’s action determines that Clean Air Act construction and operating permit requirements for the largest emitting facilities will begin when the first national rule controlling GHGs takes effect. If finalized as proposed, the rule limiting GHG emissions for cars and light trucks would trigger these requirements in January 2011 – the earliest model year 2012 vehicles meeting the standards can be sold in the United States. The agency expects to issue final vehicle GHG standards shortly.

EPA has committed to focusing its GHG permitting requirements on the largest sources. The agency will make a decision later this spring on the amount of GHGs facilities can emit before having to include limits for these emissions in their permits.

Today’s action is the final step in EPA’s reconsideration of the December 18, 2008 memorandum entitled “EPA’s Interpretation of Regulations that Determine Pollutants Covered by Federal Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Permit Program.”  The final action clarifies when GHGs and other pollutants are covered under Clean Air Act permitting programs.

More information and the letter Administrator Jackson sent last month outlining this approach and timeline: http://www.epa.gov/nsr/guidance.html

Sound bites available: http://www.epa.gov/adminweb/multimedia/newscontent/2010-3-25-oa/index2.html
–

Gary Paul Nabhan remembrs Stewart Udall

http://www.hcn.org/articles/vision-and-decency-conservation-and-consilience?utm_source=wcn1&utm_medium=email

Follow the coal money

THIS LINK WILL TAKE YOU TO AN ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION. “Follow the Coal Money” is an interactive tool from Appalachian Voices that tracks the flow and influence of coal money in US politics, throughout all political parties. Click on one of the search tools on the right to find out which companies are heaping their dirty coal money into politics, and which lawmakers are receiving it. As Congress debates how to address two of coal’s biggest problems—mountaintop removal and global warming—you can find out how polluters are influencing lawmakers. Go to Interactive

Path to sustainable bioenergy in U.S. will require a new roadmap

New report calls for strong agriculture and energy policies that create jobs, curb global warming pollution, enhance national security, protect wildlife and uphold soil and water quality.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 30)—The vast potential of plant-based energy sources to create jobs, curb global warming and protect wildlife could be a reality in the United States—but not without changes in federal policies that have created an unsustainable first generation of biofuels, according to a new report released today by the National Wildlife Federation.

“Plant-based energy sources can play an important role in helping our nation create jobs, transition to a clean energy economy and confront global warming,” said Julie Sibbing, director of Global Warming, Agriculture and Wildlife at the National Wildlife Federation and co-author of the report. “However, we will need a new roadmap.”

Harvesting plant-based crops to produce energy to power cars, homes, businesses and communities—so-called bioenergy—has long been recognized as an important strategy for helping the nation transition away from fossil fuels and toward an economy based on clean, renewable sources of energy.

“Successful, sustainable bioenergy projects have started to take root in the United States, yet are not being adequately supported by current federal policies,” said Sibbing. “This report underscores the urgent need for the U.S. Congress and Obama Administration to enact solutions that support domestic plant-based energy sources that create jobs, enhance national security, protect wildlife and curb global warming pollution.”

Biomass already produces 15 times more renewable energy for the United States than wind and solar combined. It holds the promise for creating heat, electricity and fuel from a variety of sources. Perennial grasses grown on marginal lands, studies suggest, can produce two to three times more energy per acre than existing grain crops—with fewer expensive up-front costs, leading to improved farmer income.

The report sets out several visions for what a sustainable bioenergy future might look like, highlighting successful biomass businesses that are producing energy for schools, colleges, hospitals, and prisons using native grasses, wood waste, and even forest debris from Hurricane Rita.

The transition from first-generation biofuels to more sustainable plant-based energy sources will only happen, according to the report, by enacting federal policies that:
–Remove subsidies for inefficient bioenergy practices that place new, more efficient and sustainable practices at an economic disadvantage;
–Establish standards that ensure that bioenergy sources do not contribute to environmental degradation and exacerbate global warming; and,
–Establish incentives that reward practices that most effectively combat global warming in a sustainable manner.

“Growing a Green Energy Future: A primer and Vision for Sustainable Biomass Energy” recommends federal policies that ensure bioenergy strategies help address global warming; maintain economic vitality; protect native habitats and biodiversity; assure sustainable harvests; prevent crops from becoming invasive; preserve water resources; protect water quality and uphold soil quality.

“People, communities, farmers, businesses and wildlife will all benefit from our transition to a clean energy economy supported by sustainable plant-based energy sources,” said Sibbing. “We have solutions. It is time to use them.”

National Wildlife Federation is America’s conservation organization inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future.

For more information: www.nwf.org/news

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 30, 2010

CONTACT:
Julie Sibbing, National Wildlife Federation, 202-797-6832; sibbing@nwf.org
Jordan Lubetkin, National Wildlife Federation, 734-887-7109, lubetkin@nwf.org

From bucolic bliss to ‘gated ghetto’

And what will happen when Peak Oil happens? In the meantime, fish and wildlife continue to get polluted and destroyed habitat, all because many, many, many Americans have forgotten how to get around on their own two feet. Hey, I shouted at a motorist the other day, “Why walk when I can drive?” Right. Click here to read the LA Times’ article.

Wild and hatchery salmon not equal

No kidding? Tell that to all the put-and-takers who like the feel of hatchery mongrels as they clamber over rocks and sand below a Pacific Northwest dam on a formerly wild and free stream.  Go here to read the sorry tale.