Nov 22, 09
No More Coal?
Architecture 2030 recently ran a full page ad in The New Yorker magazine, asking "Think You’re Making a Difference? Think Again." They note that "There are 151 new conventional coal-fired power plants in various stages of development in the US today," and go on to compare the beneficial impact of major conservation initiatives against the negative impact of one coal plant: Home Depot is funding the planting of 300,000 trees in cities across the US to help absorb carbon dioxide (CO2)...
The Week in Carbon (4/16/07)
(An idiosyncratic, non-comprehensive, more or less weekly summary of some of the action in the very active world of climate change.) Step It Up's "National Day of Climate Action" stepped up yesterday. In all 50 states, at more than 1400 iconic places across the nation, we have united around a common call to action: "Step It Up Congress: Cut Carbon 80% by 2050." Organizer Bill McKibben describes his "new hobby": sifting through the action reports that have come in from around the country....
The Week in Carbon (4/8/07)
The big news of the week, of course is the latest IPCC report. The second of four reports expected this year from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it details current research and thinking on potential impacts. It's not a pretty picture...
The Week in Carbon (3/11/07)
Lots of action from Europe this week: First up, as Environmental Leader reports, the EU is set to ban inefficient light bulbs. There was plenty of flak thrown around when a California legislator proposed a ban recently. But the momentum is clear, now. European light bulb makers are close to an agreement in principle to work together on phasing out energy-wasting incandescent bulbs for the consumer market. Australia announced it would phase out incandescents and Greenpeace asked India to...
The Week in Carbon (2/25/07)
The Globies Environmental Defense announced its Globies awards this week. The winners: Seattle mayor Greg Nickels, the US Climate Action Partnership, and Al Gores' film, An Inconvenient Truth. The losers: Exxon-Mobil, for "its decade-long and multi-million dollar public relations campaign to undermine the scientific consensus on global warming," and Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, who notably called global warming "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on humankind." Honorable mention:...
The Week in Carbon (2/18/07)
It was a week of many meetings dealing with carbon emissions and climate change: The American Association for the Advancement of Science held its annual meeting in San Francisco last week. Pacific Gas and Electric hosted a distinguished panel exploring solar policy futures. The SF Bay Area regional government organizations help the first of series of public forums to discuss what in the world to do. And a wave of climate teach-ins is simmering on the back burner. (The Bay Area isn't the only...
The Week in Carbon (2/11/2007)
Branson's "Virgin Earth Challenge" The stand-out item this week was the joint announcement from Sir Richard Branson and Al Gore of a $25 million prize for viable solutions for carbon sequestration. The Virgin Earth Challenge, according to Environmental Leader, will award $25 million to the individual or group who are able to demonstrate a commercially viable design which will remove at least 1 billion tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year for at least ten years without harmful...
The Week in Carbon (2/4/07)
I'll put the conclusions at the top, for those of you who don't read all the way through: The options for action -- for governments, companies and, yes, each of us -- should now be clear, if they weren't already: 1. Slow and reverse any and all contributions to global warming 2. Minimize, mitigate, deal with, adapt to the daunting and inevitable impacts 3. Do #1 and 2 in ways that build economic benefit 4. Do #1, 2 and 3 in ways that build reputation (#4 is especially pertinent for...
The Week in Carbon
Ed note: This is Gil's self described: "sometimes weekly, no pretense at comprehensive, occasionally opinionated scan of some of the week's key events in carbon emissions and climate crisis," for the week of Jan 22-28. And what a week it was! CEOs In what the SF Chronicle labelled corporate climate change on climate change, [t]op executives from 10 of the nation's largest companies called on President Bush Monday to fight global warming by limiting greenhouse gases, funding research...
What's Next: Gil Friend
The key words I'm watching for 2007: generative feedback. Performance feedback that doesn't just track behavior; it drives it. Just as Prius owners inevitably change their driving behavior (whether they want to or not, whether they intend to watch their energy dashboard or not, and regardless of penalties or incentives) relevant performance feedback can engage stakeholders, steer strategy, and markedly improve implementation - the achilles heel of most sustainability initiatives. JM...
Get good news for a change.
worldchanging was founded on the idea that real solutions already exist for building the future we want. it's just a matter of grabbing hold and getting moving.
About Worldchanging
Have an idea or know about a great new tool or solution? We want to know about it!
Suggest a Story
Submission Guidelines
Design:
Matt Chapman
Logo Design:
Egg
Hosting, Development, and Technical Management:
