Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary

Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary

September 28 2009

Steven L. Hoch
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

OBSERVATION OF THE WEEK

Recession Spurs Fall in GHG Emissions
Politicians love to take credit for things even if they had nothing to do with it… so who is going to lay claim to this?

The global recession has resulted in a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions as manufacturing falls, according to an unpublished International Energy Agency study. The report found that carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels had fallen by the largest amount in 40 years. Other factors that may have played a role in this reduction include the decision not to move forward with some plans for coal-fired power stations and the impact of environmental regulations imposed by governments.

GHG MONITORING

EPA Releases Final GHG Reporting Rule
Guess who winds up paying for reporting?

The rule would require entities emitting at least 25,000 tons of CO2 and other GHGs to report their emissions. EPA estimates the rule will require reporting from about 10,000 facilities that account for about 85 percent of U.S. GHG emissions. Covered entities include suppliers of coal-based liquid fuel, petroleum products, natural gas, industrial greenhouse gases, and carbon dioxide in addition to facilities that use those resources, including stationary fuel combustion sites, electricity generators, manure management sites, waste landfills, and multiple manufacturing plants including lime, iron, steel, lead, cement, and aluminum. Additionally, it will include emissions from all heavy-duty and off-road vehicles. Manufacturers—rather than car owners or sellers—will be responsible for reporting the emissions. Monitoring requirements to collect GHG data will take effect January 1, 2010. The first reports must be submitted to EPA by March 31, 2011. EPA estimates the cost of the rule at $115 million for the first year and $72 million on an annualized basis in subsequent years—less than 1 percent of annual sales for small businesses.

CORPORATE GREENING

Survey says: “More companies going green.”
But how do we know they are all calculating the same….maybe they have no cows?

The Carbon Disclosure Project, a U.K.-based nonprofit that presses businesses to calculate and make public their carbon footprints, says 332 of the Standard & Poor’s 500 companies responded to this year’s study, a 66 percent return, up from 64 percent last year. Comerica, Inc. scored the highest in the survey’s ranking criteria, followed by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Chevron Corp.; and Cisco Systems Inc., Best Buy Co. Inc., and News Corp. also ranked among the top climate-conscious firms. Almost twice as many corporations said they have established targets for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, the report says. Fifty-two percent of the S&P 500 firms responding to the study disclosed specific emission reduction targets, up from 32 percent in 2008.

GREEN BUILDINGS

Labeling Green Buildings – Adrift
Let’s take care of the cow calculations first. (See below)

A study released last week by RAND Corp., surveyed building efficiency and labeling policies in Europe and Australia, with an eye toward what could work in America. The report makes recommendations for U.S. lawmakers if they go ahead with a labeling program but doesn’t answer the question of just how would these labels affect the business? No one is actually sure. Furthermore, Congress deleted from the draft of the Waxman bill a provision allowing states to label all buildings, new and old, for their energy performance. Environmental and energy efficiency groups protested. They said leaky old buildings make up the bulk of the building stock and are a key source of emissions cuts, since 40 percent of the country’s annual CO2 emissions come from the buildings sector. [What will happen is up in the air.]

TAXES/FEES

California Gas Tax Gone with the Wind…
We dodged that bullet.

A California tax-reform panel has rejected a Democratic faction’s proposal to increase the state’s gasoline tax in part to help lower GHG emissions. The plan would have sought an 18 cent hike to the state’s gas tax in the first year, followed by annual 7-cent and inflation-based hikes.

California Regulators Pass First U.S. Fee on GHG Emitters
But, they got us with this bullet.

CARB voted unanimously to make businesses bear most of the costs of administering A.B. 32. The fee starts at 12 cents a ton of CO2 starting in 2010, then drops to 9 cents a ton after the first three years. As an example, a cement plant would pay about $200,000 a year, with oil refineries expected to average closer to $1.3 million a year, under the fee schedule. From costs passed to individual consumers, CARB anticipates a restaurant would pay about $17 a year and a household about $1.60 a year.

TRANSPORTATION

San Francisco Airport Kiosk Sells Carbon Offsets
All these and no peanuts on the flight anymore?

Three kiosks recently unveiled at the airport allow flyers to pay a voluntary fee to counteract their plane’s carbon emissions. Travelers enter their flight’s details to find out how many pounds of carbon dioxide they are responsible for offsetting. The machines then charge $13.50 per ton. A round-trip from SFO to JFK would cost $23.42 per person. A one-way trip to LAX would cost $1.75. Of the $13.50, $12 funds reforestation at a 24,000-acre forest preserve in Mendocino County. The remaining $1.50 supports San Francisco environmental programs.

Air Transport Group Promises to Cut CO2 Emissions in Half by 2050
The airlines should just make the pilots buy offsets at the kiosks before they take off.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) stated it would stabilize airline emissions by 2020 and cut emissions by half from 2005 levels by the middle of the century. IATA also stated that airline emissions already are projected to fall by 7 percent this year, with most of the reduction—5 percent—attributable to fewer flights resulting from the global economic downturn. Some of the future reductions will come from better routing computers and alternative aviation biofuels.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

House of Representatives Rolls out a Hybrid-Diesel Truck
A Prius on steroids.

A new diesel-electric truck will be used to ferry thousands of pounds of furniture and office supplies between House buildings and warehouses near Washington Dulles International Airport. The $133,000 Model 330 Hybrid Electric is designed to run 30 percent more fuel-efficient and uses virtually no fuel at speeds under 25 miles per hour. By comparison, conventional models of the same size cost around $65,000. The House wants an all electric truck that is available today, but is waiting to see how the vehicle performs in its first years on the road.

DOE Audit Says Green Projects Wasted Money
And they are ready to hand out billions for new projects… Great.

An audit of green projects run to date by DOE shows that the agency has squandered money and lacks trained personnel to oversee the technically complex projects. Past projects have been subject to waste and abuse, according to the agency’s inspector general. One project, for example, paid $565,000 over six years to a contractor in Texas for a high-efficiency laundry that is no longer in use, while another project paid $3.4 million without checking whether the conservation steps actually worked.

COWS

Petition Seeks Emissions Limits on Livestock Operations
Cows breathe a moo of relief when EPA says cow flatulence will not be regulated.

A coalition of environmental, animal rights and community groups filed a petition to EPA making the scientific and legal case that concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), emit two greenhouse gases (methane and nitrous oxide) that hurt human health and welfare. The petitioners say that regulating emissions from CAFOs, which produce 500 million tons of waste a year, could make a big dent in global warming. Combined agricultural activities account for more than 6 percent of total U.S. emissions. A major portion of that comes from the manure on feedlots, and from the animals themselves. The groups’ call could reignite recent warnings from farm advocates who fear the specter of a “cow tax.” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has insisted she has no plans to regulate the flatulence of cows.

Dispute over Cows’ Carbon Footprint – What are the Rules?
Not sure if the non-regulation of cow flatulence is going to help resolve this problem.

The large British retailer Tesco PLC has begun labeling its milk with a carbon footprint, calculated at 2 pounds of CO2 per pint of milk. The U.S. dairy industry came up with a carbon footprint 15 percent lower than Tesco’s figure. The difference is partly due to the multiple products a cow provides: milk and then, once the cow is slaughtered, beef. Someone needs to make a decision on how much carbon counts to the former versus the latter. All of it adds up to a lot of uncertainty for retailers trying to curb their emissions or get a head start on possible regulation.

Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary

Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary

September 21 2009


Steven L. Hoch
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP


Ed. note: There is so much going on that I will attempt to put the pieces together under some common headings so that you can go to whatever issue you are particularly interested in or note the differences of opinion within each category.

MOST IMPORTANT NEWS OF THE WEEK

Beer Affected by Climate Change
Now this is a crisis! We predict beer hording… can you imagine longing for a Bud 2012, great vintage!


In a paper recently published in the Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, they found that the quality of Saaz hops – a delicate variety of hop used to make pilsner lager – has been decreasing in recent years. The continuing rise of air temperature in the Czech Republic (where the crops are located) is the culprit. The team used high-resolution weather pattern, crop yield and hop quality data to gauge the impact of climate change on the Saaz crops between 1954 and 2006. The team found that the acidity of the hops had dropped 0.06% every year in this time period. Ideally, to get that characteristic of delicate bitter pilsner taste, the hops must contain around 5% alpha acid. Unfortunately, this quantity is dropping and showing little sign of stabilizing. In fact, the team predicts that it is only going to get worse.


Lithium for Batteries Ties Us to Foreign Countries Just Like Oil
A not so funny irony.


Most of the world’s lithium production is centered in Bolivia, Chile, and China. Recycling (see below “Transportation”) has to be in place for vehicle batteries so that it can help save the United States from trading “peak oil” for “peak lithium.” Demand for lithium is currently restrained by the global recession, but is expected to catch back up with the world supply by 2013 but rising demand for electric vehicles could cause a lithium production crunch as early as 2017 and beyond.

GREEN BUILDINGS

Green Buildings are Better Values
Uncle Sam wants you… to be green.


A study by Pike Research, Boulder, Colorado, has shown that in addition to the benefits of reducing energy bills, high-performance buildings command premium rental and sales prices. According to the report, commercial building retrofits range from less than $1 per square foot for a simple energy efficiency program to save 10% of energy costs, to $10 to $30 per square foot to save 40% of energy costs and enhance occupant performance or up to $40 per square foot for a major renovation.


People are More Productive in “Green” Buildings
Take two buildings and call me in the morning.


Researchers at the University of San Diego’s Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate and CB Richard Ellis have found that employees who work in green buildings are more productive than their counterparts who work in non-green buildings. Forty-five percent of respondents reported that they had experienced an average of 2.88 fewer sick days at their new, green office location vs. their earlier non-green office location. The 10 percent that reported more sick days were residents of Energy Star-labeled, not LEED-certified buildings. Unlike LEED buildings, Energy Star buildings do not have air quality requirements.

ECONOMICS

Report Says Global Warming Will Cost a Lot!
DUH! Maybe if we didn’t pay for these types of reports, we could spend the money wisely.


A report developed by a coalition of major climate change foundations found that global warming could cost some countries as much as 19 percent of their gross domestic product by 2030. In Florida, for example, three Miami-area counties could face $26 billion in economic losses if hurricane and other climate risks increase as expected. In Maharashtra, India, the major risks are to food production and the rural poor. For India, the study found that a drought in 2030 could mean $7 billion in agricultural losses. Under a severe climate change scenario, droughts that occur once every 25 years could occur every eight years.




Two-Thirds of Banks Acknowledge Business Risks from Climate Change, But Lag on Funding.
There is a need to put your money where your mouth is.


Amid growing pressure on developing countries to join an international climate treaty later this year, a new Ceres report released today shows that emerging market banks are beginning to integrate climate change considerations into lending and other business decision-making, but that significantly more attention is needed. Despite this, the report shows that only a small number of banks are financing clean energy programs and fewer still are participating in carbon trading projects.


And Now, from the French
“Let them eat petrol!”


French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to impose a tax on carbon emissions appears to be engendering opposition from all fronts, with environmentalists claiming the plan to impose a roughly $25-per-ton tax on CO2 is far too modest, and both socialist and centrist political leaders—well aware of polls indicating just one-third of the public backs the proposal – denouncing it as “unjust” and regressive. The French carbon tax would be imposed on fossil fuels beginning next year.


Advocating a Carbon Tax
President Sarkozy, may I introduce you to Professor Mason?


Carbon-tax advocates think they’re still in the game, despite all the talk about cap-and-trade, and a new study by one carbon-tax proponent argues it should be a hands-down winner, offering “the most efficient policy approach” and “the flexibility policymakers need to grapple with the problems presented by climate change.” The study by LSU economist Joseph R. Mason sees “myriad benefits” in a carbon tax and fatal flaws in cap-and-trade, the most important drawback of which “is that they do not work in practice.” Mason’s over-all conclusion: “A carbon tax confers far greater economic efficiency than an ill-defined, unstable, and environmentalist—and Wall Street—driven cap-and-trade market design.”


Offsets a Distraction
Don’t worry; there isn’t enough to go around. (See below.)


The controversial practice of carbon offsetting, via which U.S. polluters send money overseas in exchange for promised pollution reductions elsewhere, came under fire last week in a new report published by Friends of the Earth. Spokespersons for the organization have said: “The offsets in the bill that recently passed the House could allow the United States to keep increasing emissions of heat-trapping gases until 2029, even though scientists say we need to reduce emissions now.” Full report at: www.foe.org/dangerous-distraction.


Not Enough Offsets
Friends of the Earth – take note.


The National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan group that advises on policy, says there won’t be enough international offsets to reach the necessary assumed levels of availability, particularly in the early years of a US cap and trade scheme. The Commission notes that past experience with offset programs indicates the international offset market to ramp up slowly compared to some of the more optimistic estimates associated with House climate legislation.


Offsets are a CROC
A big dose of cynicism always mixes well with any dispute.


A new website, www.thecroc.org, has been created to express, in a slightly satirical manner (a lot like Comments), a belief that offsets are a “croc.” The website explains itself as follows: “C.R.O.C. was created to promote the benefits of carbon offsets to folks like you. Just like a pollution-belching corporation, you too are now able to wreak environmental destruction when you earn a sufficient amount of carbon offset points. If you do something good for the environment, it just makes sense you get to do something bad to it–or vice versa. Keep the logic circular, is what we say. Spin baby, spin!” It’s worth a visit.

TRANSPORTATION

Reducing Vehicle Emissions
Wonder if one of those pine cone air fresheners to reduce emissions?


EPA and the NHTSA have released a much-anticipated proposed regulation to increase federal fuel-economy requirements and reduce GHG emissions, claiming the new standards would reduce vehicle GHGs by approximately 12 percent by 2020 and 23 percent by 2050. The proposed rulemaking would establish a national average fuel economy standard for new vehicles of 35.5 miles per gallon or an average of 250 grams/mile of carbon dioxide by model year 2016. The standards would apply to passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles and cover model years 2012 to 2016.


Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Says CAFE More Costly Than Cap-and-Trade
Forget the air fresheners...


A CBO “issue brief” asserts that tighter corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards meant to reduce vehicle emissions will likely “be more costly to society than other strategies (such as generating electricity from natural gas instead of coal) that could be encompassed by a cap-and-trade program.”


Recyclers Craft End-of-Life Solutions for EV Batteries
The Energizer Bunny now has a place to rest in pieces.


In the race to put 1 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015, another challenge awaits on the other side of the finish line: recycling all of those batteries. DOE recently awarded $9.5 million to a recycling company to boost capacity for lithium-ion batteries, the kind used to power most of the new hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles entering the world market. Though lithium currently fetches very little on the open market, other components in lithium-ion batteries, such as nickel and cobalt, will make the batteries far too valuable to send to the landfill.

WHERE DOES IT ALL COME FROM?

Consumer Goods Cause 42% US GHGs: EPA
Now that I think of it, ever wonder why they put bananas in plastic bags, or package grapes?


The EPA released the estimate in a report highlighting opportunities for reducing greenhouse gases through better materials and land-use management practices. The agency analyzed the total amount of greenhouse gases associated with the life cycle of goods, from their extraction or harvest, to their production and transport, and reuse or disposal. The EPA projected millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced by changing the management of products, such as packaging and recycling. Among its findings are:


• 105 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent could be reduced a year by reducing packaging by 50 per cent;
• 300 million tonnes of could be reduced a year through 100 per cent recycling and composting of municipal solid waste;
• 150 million tonnes of could be reduced by capturing 100 per cent of methane from US landfills to generate electricity.
The report can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/ghg_land_and_materials_management.pdf

Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary

Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary

September 14, 2009

Steven L. Hoch
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP


Study Says We May Go To War Over Climate Issues
Oh great, just great.

The “Climate Security Index” analysis, by the American Security Project, a bipartisan think tank, states that U.S. military and humanitarian resources will be stretched thin as climate change destabilizes vulnerable regions of the world. In these regions climate change will exacerbate regional tensions and increase the risk of conflict, mass migration and humanitarian emergencies – likely forcing U.S. intervention. See http://www.secureamericanfuture.org/.

IRS Wants You to Comment On Carbon Sequestration Tax Credits
If you don’t comment, you will get audited. Remember that!

The IRS is again asking for public comment on a tax credit for carbon dioxide sequestration under tax code Section 45Q. IRS previously sought comment on the notice in June. The credits apply to wind/refined coal facilities placed in service before 1/1/20, and to qualified open and closed-loop biomass, geothermal and solar, small irrigation, landfill gas, trash combustion and qualified hydropower facilities in service before 1/1/11. The section provides for credit of (i) $20 per metric ton of qualified carbon dioxide emissions sequestered and (ii) $10 per metric ton of qualified carbon dioxide emissions used as a tertiary injectant in a qualified enhanced oil or natural gas recovery project. A qualified facility must capture at least 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide during the taxable year.

EPA in a Bit of a Quandary over Accuracy of GHG Emissions Estimates
SWAGS rule (Scientific Wild Ass Guess).

EPA may allow industry to estimate its emissions while some claim that estimation methods can result in under-reporting of emissions by as much as 70 percent. Given these concerns about accuracy, one EPA official said the agency will soon release new methods for estimating emissions. Industry officials have been calling on EPA to allow facilities to use “best available” data in the initial reporting periods because they will not have enough time to install monitors. Environmentalists can not fathom this being permitted by EPA and indicate that it would appear EPA is hungry for data, not accuracy.

Airlines Fight Control under AB32
“Fly me to the moon”… but not from California

The airline industry is fighting California’s authority to regulate GHG emissions at airports stating that these facilities are exclusively regulated by the federal government. Citing section 233 of the Clean Air Act, the Air Transport Association (ATA) is asking for amendments to draft guidelines to reflect the federal preemption of the area. Several airport expansion projects already have been the focus of argument between the state and industry over whether GHG emissions should be assessed, mitigation and the application of CEQA.


Brands Use Carbon Offsets

Offsets become a marketing tool.

71 of the top brands using carbon offsets in the industries of Airlines, Auto, Bottled Water, Consumer Products, Credit Card, Energy, Events, Facebook, Fashion, Online Retail, Publications, Shipping, Shopping Malls, and Travel are listed at: C:\Documents and Settings\slh\Desktop\Newsletter\ARTICLES\71 Brands using Carbon Offsets Carbon Offsets Daily.mht

Commodity Futures Trading Commission is “Go” to Regulate Over-the-Counter Carbon Markets
“We don’t need any stinking derivatives!”

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is being touted by its chairman as being able to effectively oversee over-the-counter trading of “tailored” carbon contracts, even as many legislators continue to express doubt whether the markets should exist. Some lawmakers have been skeptical of creating a carbon trading market for fear that the possible trillion-dollar market – in particular the derivatives or financial products based on the value of the market – would be the next “sub-prime mortgage” financial disaster. Much of this concern could be eliminated the CFTC chairman notes by legislation to reform over-the-counter derivatives that were permitted are permitted to exist.

Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary -August 31, 2009

Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary

August 31, 2009

The Mega Edition (Sorry – there was just too much stuff to pass up.)

Steven L. Hoch
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP




Bust of Carbon Swindlers
Bernie Madoff, Alive and Well in the UK?


English customs agents this week arrested nine people in the London area suspected of a multimillion dollar fraud in trading carbon permits. The arrest confirmed fears among law enforcement officers that swindlers — operating from the trading floors of Europe to the tropical forests of the Pacific — are being attracted to a market that has grown to more than $100 billion. One hundred thirty British customs agents raided twenty-seven properties in and around London for evidence of a “carousel fraud” believed to have robbed the treasury of 38 million pounds ($63 million) in unpaid value-added tax. The carousel fraud, also known as a missing trader scheme, exploits VAT-free commerce between countries. Conspirators import goods free of tax, sell it domestically with VAT to another company, which exports the products to third country. Rather than pay the VAT owed to the government, the merchants pocket the tax and disappear.


Cows to Assist in Ethanol Production
Now if we could only do something with the other stuff cows give off.


An enzyme from a microbe found in a cow’s stomach may enable industry to use all of the corn plant and not just the kernel for ethanol production. A study by MSU Professor Mariam Sticklen indicates that a cow’s stomach quickly breaks down corn, grasses and other high cellulose plant fibers into simple sugars. She has found that a gene from the microbe, when implanted into a corn cell, allows the gene to replicate the enzyme that splits pairs of sugar molecules into simple sugars so that it is found throughout the corn plant. With this enzyme in the corn the entire plant could be used.


Study States that Half of Global Farmlands Have Tree Cover
So we need 10 times the number of farms we have?


According to a study released today from the World Agroforestry Center in Nairobi, almost half of the world’s total farmland has at least 10 percent tree-cover. The study suggests farmers would do more to preserve trees if they received credits under a proposed United Nations climate agreement that will be discussed this December in Copenhagen.


Seeds of New Energy Crop Found in Watermelon Fields
They didn’t say whether it matters if it was seedless or not.


Rejected watermelons–those with misshapen, scarred or discolored rinds–may soon be the newest ethanol feedstock. Agriculture Department scientists have shown that watermelon juice can be efficiently fermented into ethanol. That’s good news for watermelon farmers, who routinely leave 20 percent to 40 percent of their crop in the field because of rind defects. But corn and cellulosic ethanol producers needn’t worry about the competition just yet as the watermelon-ethanol industry will likely be a localized operation, with mobile or small-scale plants being installed at or near watermelon fields to process the leftover fruit and produce ethanol on the spot for use in farm equipment or in other applications that don't require long-distance transport.


The US Boom of Biofuels Needs Refueling
The bloom is off the corn.


The U.S. biofuel industry is having problems. Two-thirds of domestic biodiesel production capacity is unused, according to the National Biodiesel Board. Falling oil prices have reduced the profitability of current fuels, and a lack of venture capital has hurt efforts to develop new ones. And as companies try to develop “second-generation” biofuels – those derived from nonfood crops – they face tight credit markets and investors.


Gas Industry, Activists Eye Push to Help Retire ‘Clunker’ Coal Plants
But they have to be drivable and registered with the DMV for the last two years and the maximum you can get is $4.5M.


Natural gas interests and potential allies are discussing options for new incentives in federal climate legislation to boost natural gas-fired power generation and speed retirement of coal-fired “electricity clunkers.” A joint memo by the Center for American Progress and the Energy Future Coalition includes a general call for “economic incentives” to encourage coal plant retirements, as well as a specific call for a “renewable integration” tax credit to encourage companies to boost their renewable energy generation beyond minimum requirements. The credit would help offset costs of accommodating renewable resources to the electricity grid, including possible construction of “rapid start” natural gas power plants to provide backup for intermittent wind or other renewables.


Carbon Sports News: Formula Zero (carbon) - Motor Racing Without the Emissions
Richard Petty, eat your heart out… Gentlemen, start your fuel cells!


In Formula Zero cars run on electric motors powered by hydrogen fuel cells. It is the vision of two Dutchmen who are at the moment they are starting small: rather than putting out 200 mph monsters they are using go-karts which reach about 45 mph on a track that would comfortably fit inside half a football field (but is difficult to master because of its tight corners). They hope to be racing full-sized cars by 2011 and, perhaps, eventually to replace Formula One itself as automotive technology becomes less and less dependent on the gasoline engine. About the lack of noise from gas engines, one of the founders states: “Sure, some people may miss the sound of screaming engines, but a new generation will be completely thrilled with the sound our cars make. I would compare it to pop music. There’s always a generation which rejects the sounds of their parents.”


Vegan Diet Reduces Carbon Footprint
A vegan in every house, a Hummer in every garage.


According to calculations done by the Associated Press, replacing “clunkers” with more fuel-efficient cars will reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by about 700,000 tons a year. But, it does until you consider that America spews out more carbon dioxide than that – 728,000 tons on average – every single hour. Last year, the U.S. emitted nearly 6.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide – and that figure was lower than in previous years. In its groundbreaking report Livestock’s Long Shadow, the United Nations concluded that the meat industry generates approximately 40 percent more greenhouse gases than all the cars, trucks, SUVs, ships and planes in the world combined. The report summarizes the devastation caused by the meat industry by calling it “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” The best way to fix this problem isn’t to junk clunkers but to kick the meat habit. Researchers at the University of Chicago have determined that switching to a vegan diet (which includes no meat, eggs or dairy foods) is about 50 percent more effective in countering climate change than trading in a standard American car for a Prius. And according to the Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook, “refusing meat” is the “single most effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.”


Taming the Escalating Cost of Escalators with Reduced Operation and Voltage Controllers
The ups and downs of saving energy (rim shot).


Shutting down escalators during periods of low use and installing voltage controllers lowers utility costs, reduces the environmental impact of a hotel, and clearly conveys a hotel’s environmental commitment to guests and staff. A typical escalator operating around the clock consumes in excess of 45,000 kWh of electricity annually, reducing the operation by say, one-third, would save approximately 15,000 kWh of energy. To put that figure in perspective, the average home in the United States consumes on average 11,500 kWh per year. Voltage controllers are available from several manufacturers, and they frequently use different names for these devices. Sometimes they are referred to as “power factor controllers” because by reducing voltage, they also improve a motor’s power factor at low load. This points out a secondary benefit of voltage controllers: by improving power factor, they may reduce any fee that a utility company charges for low power factor. One installation at Caesar’s Palace casino resulted in an average power reduction of over 36% during periods when the escalators were lightly loaded, resulting in a payback of about 2.8 years.


Does Climate Change Injure the Health of this Country to be Decided by a Court? Maybe.
To endanger health, or not to endanger health, that is a question?


The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a 21-page petition with EPA to hold a public debate on climate change science -- or face litigation – as the agency prepares to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. The Chamber wants an independent trier of fact who would allow EPA and environmental and business groups to engage in a “credible weighing” of the scientific evidence that global warming endangers human health. An endangerment finding would make EPA the regulator of the U.S. economy notes the Chamber spokesperson.