Tag: Carbon Emissions

Carbon Foot Print Grows

The greenhouse gas emissions of 40 industrialized nations that signed the Kyoto Protocol treaty in 1997 have collectively dropped by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels, the UN reported on Monday

Between 2000 and 2006 emissions actually rose by 2.3 percent, and it’s that recent trend that threatens to undo the previous decline and worries the UN’s climate chief, Yvo de Boer, ahead of the organization’s climate meeting in Poznan Poland next month.

The Kyoto Protocol was signed by 183 nations but rejected by President George W. Bush over concerns it would harm the economy of the U.S., which has been the world’s biggest emitter but is now rivaled by China.

Among industrialized nations, 16 are on target to meet their Kyoto obligations including France, the UK, Greece and Hungary, the UN said.

The UN report said 20 countries were lagging, including Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the biggest offender, Canada –its emissions rose by 21.3 percent since 1990.

The European countries that were responsible for the dip in emissions in the early 1990’s, also saw their own rise emissions rise on average by 7.4 percent of 1990 levels between 2000 and 2006.

The three nations — among the world’s largest polluters — have not taken part in efforts under the Kyoto Protocol.

The U.S. refused to ratify the treaty, largely because Bush said it would cost the U.S. economy some 5 million jobs and he believed that rapidly developing economies such as India and China should also have to face climate obligations.

But Obama’s green plan would create 5 million jobs….thinking….I do not like it when numbers match precisely in politics…..makes me very suspicious.

Electric Cars Will Be Profitable

McCain as part of his energy policy has suggested that the US would offer a bonus for the company that comes up with the proper battery for more electric ars. When he made that offer I said then, just mail it to Japan because they were at least 5 years ahead of the US in that technology.

The electric cars that Nissan Motor plans to start selling by 2010 will have varying capabilities depending on a given country’s driving patterns, but all will be priced competitively and will generate profits, company executives said Tuesday

Nissan’s chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, said that any electric car the company sold in the United States would need a range of at least 100 miles between charges to be practical, but that European drivers could make do with about half that range. Tolerance for the time it takes to recharge such a car may vary widely as well, he said

To help in its development of electric cars, Nissan said Tuesday that it would work with the state of Tennessee and its largest electric utility, the Tennessee Valley Authority, to study and perhaps install infrastructure like charging stations. The automaker has begun similar efforts in Denmark, Israel and Portugal, but the United States presents a far greater opportunity for Nissan to market electric cars.

Scientist Calls For Energy CEOs To Be Held Responsible

In testimony before the US Congress on Monday, James Hansen, a leading climatologist, called heads of major energy companies criminals who should be prosecuted for deliberately spreading false and misleading information about the threat posed by global warming.

Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), testified before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming to mark the 20th anniversary of his initial appearance before Congress in 1988. He generated the first significant public awareness of the issue of global warming by telling the Senate at that time that manmade greenhouse gasses were raising global temperatures.

Since then climate scientists have reached a virtually unanimous consensus that the burning of oil and other fossil fuels results in additional atmospheric carbon dioxide, trapping heat. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased greatly over the last century, and global temperatures are rising as a result.

Hansen decried the extremely limited official goals set for reducing carbon emissions calling them “a recipe for global disaster.” He called for a moratorium on the construction of coal burning power plants and the development of carbon free alternatives to coal and petroleum.

Hansen indicted the energy conglomerates for blocking action on global warming. “Instead of moving heavily into renewable energies, fossil fuel companies choose to spread doubt about global warming, just as tobacco companies discredited the link between smoking and cancer. Methods are sophisticated, including funding to help shape school textbook discussions about global warming.”

Despite Hansen’s compelling testimony, there are no indications that US policy will change. Since Hansen first appeared before Congress in 1988, neither the Clinton administration nor the administrations of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush have passed any major legislation restricting greenhouse gas emissions. There have been 21 coal-fired power plants constructed and US emissions of carbon dioxide have risen by some 18 percent.

The domination of the energy sector by a handful of private monopolies and the subordination of both the Republicans and Democrats to these powerful interests blocks the adoption of any serious measures to deal with the looming catastrophe posed by global warming. These multibillion dollar corporations will not tolerate any measure, no matter how critical for human survival, that impinges on their profits.

Further, any strategy to oppose global warming requires a coordinated international effort. However, energy companies dominate US foreign policy as well, dictating a strategy that seeks to secure world hegemony, including the invasion and occupation of Iraq and other oil rich regions of the world.