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Gore Exhorts UN Climate Conference to Act Now – “The Earth has a rising fever,” Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore told delegates at the United Nations climate change conference today. The former U.S. vice president said that the need to address climate change is urgent because its impacts already are affecting the present generation.

Gore Exhorts UN Climate Conference to Act Now

Melting glaciers, water scarcity, floods, and greater frequency and intensity of storms and droughts are occurring now, Gore said at a side event parallel to the official conference. He stressed that the changes in the climate are far beyond those caused by natural variation.

Heads of state, politicians, nongovernmental organizations and scientists are in Bali discussing plans to reduce emissions of six greenhouse gases that have been linked to increasing global temperatures. The goal of the conference is to decide how to negotiate a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires at the end of 2012.

The Bali negotiators should not wait for the United States before moving forward with aggressive action to combat climate change, said Gore, referring to the current administration’s resistance to accepting legally binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

U.S. negotiators at Bali have blocked a proposal that called on industrialized nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020. This target was agreed by European nations and others during pre-Bali talks earlier this year.

On the recurring question of whether emission reduction ranges would be included in the text of the Bali roadmap that will emerge from this conference, the top UN climate official Yvo de Boer acknowledged today while the European Union and a number of developing countries are in favor of including the specific 25 to 40 percent range in the text, others such as the United States had made clear their opposition to this idea.

“Any inclusion of numbers in the text,” he said, would exceed his “expectations for this conference.”

At a news conference Wednesday, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky said the United States is not alone in resisting future emissions targets. Canada and Russia have joined with the Bush administration in this position.

Gore indicated that the United States could be in a different political situation next year, after the November 2008 election which term limits do not permit President George W. Bush to contest.

Gore called for the implementation of the successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol in 2010, two years before the current commitment period under the protocol expires, as he said in his Nobel Peace Prize lecture in Norway on Tuesday.

Gore encouraged participants to draw upon what India’s Mahatma Gandhi referred to as “truth force” to help the climate change action movement gather momentum.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told delegates that he supports carbon capture and storage under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism, which allows industrialized countries with legally binding emissions limits to gather credits by supporting projects in developing countries.

Stoltenberg announced that Norway would spend more than US$500 million annually to support efforts to reduce deforestation in developing countries.

Also today British scientists released a report showing that the top 11 warmest years on record all occurred within the past 13 years.

The data comes from UK government’s Met Office and the University of East Anglia, which together maintain a global temperature record which is used in the reports of the Nobel Peace Prize winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The scientists released preliminary global temperature figures for 2007, which show this year is likely to be the seventh warmest on records dating back to 1850.

In January, meteorologists at the two research centers predicted that 2007 could register a global temperature well above the long term average. There was also a 60 percent probability that 2007 could be the warmest year on record and the expected temperature for 2007 is within the range predicted.

The announcement comes as the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization Michel Jarraud addressed the United Nations climate change conference.

“Many developing countries already have considerable difficulties in maintaining their observational networks,” Jarraud told the delegates today.

“Therefore, collaborative mechanisms should urgently be developed or strengthened, as most appropriate, to meet developing countries’ observational requirements and to upgrade the quality and efficiency of their climate risk management practices,” he said.

Dr. Vicky Pope from the Met Office Hadley Centre has been attending the conference and says, “The last few days have provided an important platform for debate and confirms the need for swift action to combat further rises in global temperatures because of human behavior.”

The last time annual mean global temperatures were below the 1961-1990 long term average was in 1985. Since then, mean surface air temperatures have continued to demonstrate a warming trend around the world.

2007 has been no exception to this, even though there has been a La Niña event of cooling sea surface temperatures in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean which usually reduces global temperatures.

Professor Phil Jones, director of UEA’s Climatic Research Unit, said, “The year began with a weak El Niño – the warmer relation of La Niña – and global temperatures well above the long-term average. However, since the end of April the La Niña event has taken some of the heat out of what could have been an even warmer year.”

Met Office climate scientist David Parker said, “This year has also seen sea-ice extent in the Northern Hemisphere below average in each month of 2007, with record minima sea-ice reported in July, August and September.

In the Southern Hemisphere, sea-ice coverage has remained close to average,” he said.

Across the UK, 2007 is on course to become one of the warmest years on record. Even if the mean temperature for December is 1 °Celsius below the 1971-2000 long term average, the year will still be the third warmest since UK-wide records began in 1914.

The full report on the climate of 2007 is available on the WMO website. As well as information and graphics on land and sea surface temperature, it includes details on the extent of sea-ice in both hemispheres and rainfall.

Governors Urge Action to Secure a Clean Energy Future – Alternative fuels and clean vehicles were the focus of attention at a governors’ meeting in Tampa Thursday and Friday hosted by Florida Governor Charlie Crist as part of the National Governors Association’s Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative.

Governors Urge Action to Secure a Clean Energy Future

The four governors – two Republicans and two Democrats – released a report today declaring America’s current energy path “unacceptable because of escalating economic risk and serious environmental consequences.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty opened the summit, saying, “America is the world’s leading consumer of petroleum, using more than 7.6 billion barrels of oil a year, of which more than 60 percent is imported. If we’re to wrestle back control of our own energy future, America must devote serious attention to increasing development of alternative fuels and clean vehicles. As this conference demonstrates, governors are leading the way.”

Governor Pawlenty, a Republican, chairs the National Governors Association this year. Each year the incoming chair selects an initiative to focus on – his choice was Securing a Clean Energy Future.

In his forward to the new report, “A Call to Action,” Governor Pawlenty says, “Our country is too dependent on foreign sources of energy. By 2030, we will be providing only 65 percent of our own energy needs – 35 percent will come from foreign sources, mostly oil.”

“Our total energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are projected to increase more than 25 percent by 2030,” he writes. “Continuing down this dangerous pathway risks our economic wellbeing, energy security, environmental future, and quality of life.”

“America is at a tipping point,” Pawlenty writes. “As has happened at other key moments in our nation’s history, the public is ahead of policymakers, with citizens seeking strong leadership for a new direction.”

“As some of this country’s leading policymakers, my colleagues and I have a unique opportunity to move the United States toward a cleaner, more independent, more secure energy future. That’s why as chair of the National Governors Association, I’m launching a yearlong initiative – Securing a Clean Energy Future – to enlist the efforts of all governors to make our nation a global leader in energy efficiency, clean technology, energy research, and the deployment of alternative fuels.”

“For too long myths and hearsay have prevented meaningful action on these issues,” said Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana, a Democrat. “But governors are taking action. I’m proud to be here today with my colleagues to continue our work addressing our nation’s shared energy challenges.”

During the next year, Securing a Clean Energy Future’s gubernatorial task force will identify and implement approaches that use energy resources better through efficiency and conservation, and promote non-petroleum-based fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.

The task force will take “reasonable” steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and accelerate research and development of advanced clean energy technologies.

The report aims to dispel myths associated with increasing alternative energy sources, breaking our oil addiction, meeting surging electricity demand, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The first myth is that alternative energy is more expensive energy. In fact, the report says, “In a carbon-constrained future, clean energy will be increasingly cost-competitive. As state and federal policymakers move to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, clean alternative sources will become cost-competitive.”

The second myth is that American cannot break its oil addiction. In fact, the report says, “While transportation accounts for approximately two-thirds of our oil use, several promising fuels are making inroads.”

Corn-based ethanol has limited potential, because corn crops are needed for food, the report recognizes. Biodiesel, advanced petroleum diesel, plug-in hybrids are better in the short term, while hydrogen fuel cells and cellulosic ethanol produced from straw and plant waste hold the greatest promise for the future, according to the report.

Myth #3 says that we need hundreds of new power plants. In fact, the report states that energy efficiency and conservation can reduce the need for new power plants.

Myth #4 says climate change has progressed too far and is now inevitable because humans cannot reduce greenhouse gases quickly enough to make a difference. In fact, the report says, “Although some warming is inevitable, that is not an excuse for inaction or hesitation.”

“In Florida we are working to increase our energy efficiency and our use and production of ethanol and other alternative fuels for our vehicles,” said Governor Crist, a Republican. “As we learn from the successes of other states, we strengthen Florida’s position as a leader in reducing carbon emissions and addressing global climate change.”

SCEF Initiative Co-Chair Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, said, “Kansas is making great strides in the production, consumption, and promotion of biofuels. I look forward to working with governors across the country to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.”

At the meeting the governors announced a clean energy partnership with Discovery Communications – home of the Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet.

Governor Pawlenty unveiled the first product of this partnership – a public service announcement that demonstrates simple actions people can take to reduce their overall energy consumption that will begin airing on Discovery’s networks in 2008.

Next year, Discovery Home channel will become Planet Green – the first 24-hour eco-lifestyle channel, providing tools, information and content that are intended to enlighten, empower and entertain.

Governor Pawlenty and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley are honorary board members of Planet Green.

This is the first of three summits planned by the SCEF Initiative. In 2008, summits will focus on the role of states in encouraging research, development and deployment of clean energy technologies and also look at options to promote clean power generation and energy efficiency.

Iowa Plans Energy Independence – Iowa’s initial Energy Independence Plan, submitted to Governor Chet Culver and members of the general assembly today, calls for the state to set standards that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Iowa Plans Energy Independence

The plan calls for greenhouse gas emissions standards for new cars sold in Iowa that follow the low-carbon standard pioneered by California.

Written by the newly formed Iowa Office of Energy Independence, the Board of the new $100 million Power Fund, and state agencies, the plan encourages Iowa production of cost-effective, renewable energy, acceleration of infrastructure development, and use of renewable fuels for all transportation in Iowa.

The Iowa Office of Energy Independence was created by the legislature in May to recommend ways Iowa could become energy independent by 2025. There is a long way to go to reach that goal. Today, 95 percent of the state’s power comes from outside sources, a figure that has hardly changed in 25 years, according to the report.

“There is a new convergence of factors that presses Iowa forward,” the report states. “It is no longer possible to maintain an energy status quo.”

“Windows of opportunity have opened as a result of the convergence of time, Iowa’s resources and key external conditions,” the report says.” Those include the volatile cost of fossil fuels, the growing acceptance of alternative energy sources, local eagerness to invest in energy infrastructure, and increasing awareness of climate change.”

“The political will has changed as well, on a global, national, state, and local level. Iowa’s political leadership is critical for successful market transformation to achieve greater sustainable energy usage,” says the report.

Governor Chet Culver, a Democrat, supports expansion of renewable energy in Iowa and across the country.

Thursday, Culver called on all candidates running for president to support extension of the wind production tax credit, which was left out of the Energy Bill passed last night in the U.S. Senate.

“While I support many of the provisions in the Energy Bill, I am disappointed this important tax credit was stripped from the legislation,” said Culver. “However, this does not end this fight and today I call on members of Congress, both Democratic and Republican, and others running for president to join me in supporting the emerging wind industry by supporting the wind production tax credit.”

Wind power production is particularly important to the Culver government, which has attracted new turbine manufacturers, and wind energy producers to the state since taking office in January 2007.

“It is our goal to make Iowa the national leader in energy efficiency, and sustainable energy,” wrote Governor Culver and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge in a letter included in the Energy Independence Plan. “We want to make Iowa what we have called the Silicon Valley of the Midwest with respect to our new energy economy.”

Culver counts plans for the nation’s first cellulosic biorefinery, more ethanol E85 pumps and more distribution lines for bio-diesel among his renewable energy accomplishments since he took office in January.

The plan’s recommendations to the Iowa Legislature, which will be updated annually, include:

Join 16 states that have adopted or are considering adopting the California emission standards for passenger vehicles

Set standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050

Encourage Iowa production of cost-effective, renewably-generated electricity

Accelerate the infrastructure development and use of renewable fuels for all transportation in Iowa

Direct power companies to increase energy efficiency efforts, with increased education

Order the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to consider a facility’s greenhouse gas emissions when considering whether to approve air permits

Mandatory energy audits and energy-efficiency projects at all state-owned buildings, and new energy standards for new buildings

Encouragement of telecommuting, ride shares and use of public transit by state employees

Plan improvements to power lines, pipelines, railroads, trails, and roads needed to promote energy independence

Set numeric goals for cost-effective energy-efficiency measures

Require utilities to provide more renewable energy, and provide incentives

Develop and enforce energy codes for new and old buildings, and provide incentives for projects that exceed the minimum requirements

Adopt a new labeling system for residential, commercial and industrial complexes that promotes energy efficiency achievements

“Energy independence is essential for Iowa’s environment and our economy,” Governor Culver wrote in his letter attached to the plan. “With the creation of the Office of Energy Independence and the Iowa Power Fund, we have committed our state government to dedicated leadership in this effort, and to making Iowa the renewable energycapital of the country.”

Sears and Kmart Join Trend Away from PVC Plastics – In the future, Sears and Kmart shoppers will not find toys and other products made of polyvinyl chloride, PVC, plastic on the shelves.

Sears and Kmart Join Trend Away from PVC Plastics

Sears Holdings, the publicly traded parent of Kmart and Sears, Roebuck and Co., said Wednesday that the company is working to reduce and phase out PVC in its packaging and merchandise and encouraging vendors to label their PVC-free merchandise.

PVC contains lead, which can damage the brain and nervous system and cause behavior, learning and developmental disabilities. Testing has detected lead in a broad range of PVC consumer products including toys, lunchboxes, baby bibs, jewelry, garden hoses, mini blinds, Christmas trees, and electronics.

Some PVC contains phthalates, a family of chemicals used as softeners. Exposure to phthalates has been linked with premature births, early puberty in girls, impaired sperm quality and sperm damage in men, genital defects, and reduced testosterone production in boys.

Sears Holdings’ policy shift was prompted by a national campaign led by the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, CHEJ, and a coalition of health and environmental organizations.

Sears and Kmart join a growing list of companies including some of the nation’s largest – Target, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Nike, and Apple – that are eliminating or reducing their PVC products and packaging as a result of the CHEJ campaign.

According to Stores magazine rankings, Sears/Kmart, Wal-Mart and Target have a combined annual sales total of over $460 billion. Wal-Mart is ranked as the nation’s number one retailer, Target is ranked number five and Sears/Kmart is ranked number six with over $50 billion in annual revenues and some 3,800 retail stores in the United States and Canada.

“When you mention Sears to someone, especially at Christmas time, it elicits memories of the Sears catalogue and toy shopping; Sears holds a place in America’s collective memory,” said Lois Gibbs, founder of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice.

“It is fitting, right, and proper then, that Sears Holdings has been willing not only to recognize the potential dangers and harm caused by some of the products it currently sells, but has made the right decision to begin ridding its stores of this toxic PVC material,” said Gibbs.

Following her successful effort to prevent further harm for the people living in contaminated Love Canal, New York, Gibbs founded Center for Health, Environment and Justice in 1981 in order to continue mentoring others seeking to prevent harm

Gibbs says PVC harms all who come in contact with it, from workers making the products, communities located near PVC manufacturing plants, and consumers purchasing them, and to those living near landfills and incinerators where the products are discarded.

“PVC plants have contaminated the air and water of surrounding communities with highly hazardous chemicals such as vinyl chloride and dioxins,” said Professor Peter Orris, MD MPH, chief of service at the University of Illinois Medical Center Chicago. “These chemicals can cause cancer and other serious health problems for neighbors in surrounding communities.”

“Money talks and I hope that the vinyl companies polluting my community of Mossville, Louisiana are listening to Sears and Kmart, who will stop selling vinyl products and using vinyl packaging,” said Edgar Mouton, Jr., president of Mossville Environmental Action Now, an environmental justice organization.

Located in southwest Louisiana, Mossville is an unincorporated African American community that is surrounded by five vinyl production facilities, the largest concentration in the United States.

Health studies conducted by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry show that Mossville residents are exposed to elevated levels of dioxins, a toxic family of chemicals emitted as a by-product of vinyl manufacturing that can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems.

In March 2006, CHEJ authored a letter signed by 60 coalition members, asking Sears Holdings to sign a PVC-free pledge. Since receiving the letter, Sears Holdings representatives began holding good-faith discussions with CHEJ and other coalition members.

Sears Holdings also was contacted by a coalition of shareholders led by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who filed a shareholders resolution raising concerns about PVC plastic. The resolution was later withdrawn when the company signaled a willingness to engage in dialog with shareholders.

The company says its new policy is to, “Identify safer, more sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to PVC and incorporate them into the design and manufacturing process for private label merchandise and packaging.”

The company will “show preference for PVC-free materials that do not contain highly hazardous chemicals and set a long term goal of sourcing bio-based polymers that are sustainably sourced, have higher recycled content, and can be reused, recycled, or composted.”

The company also will show preference to incorporate the Society of the Plastics Industry labeling system on private label merchandise packaging to make it easier for consumers to incorporate packaging options into their purchasing decisions.

Mike Schade, who coordinates the PVC campaign for the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, said, “We welcome and applaud Sears Holdings’ new PVC phase-out policy, which will go a long way in protecting workers, communities, and consumers from the poison plastic.”

“Sears’ decision signals a major trend in the retail sector as Target and Wal-Mart have also developed policies to reduce or phase out PVC. The writing is on the wall for PVC – it’s on its way out and safer alternatives are in.”

U.S. Senate Approves Scaled Back Energy Bill – The U.S. Senate approved a landmark energy bill Thursday night that requires the first increase in vehicle fuel economy standards in more than 30 years. But the bill is far less ambitious than Democrats wanted, as they bowed to pressure from Republicans and the Bush administration and removed a $22 billion tax package that would have cut tax breaks for oil companies and boosted support for renewable energy.

U.S. Senate Approves Scaled Back Energy Bill

The removal of the tax package was a second blow to the renewable energy industry – earlier in the week Democrats had ceded to Republican demands to remove a renewable electricity mandate from the bill. The provision, approved last week by the House, would have required investor-owned utilities get 15 percent of their electricity

The scaled-back measure passed 86-8 and the House is expected to approve the bill next week. The Bush administration has indicated the president will sign the legislation into law.

Democrats noted disappointment at the demise of the tax package and the removal of a renewable electricity standard but said the final bill is still a historic achievement.

“Compromise can be frustrating, it can be exasperating, and it can be maddening,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat. “But at the end of the day, compromise can lead to progress, and that is exactly what we have today.”

Reid said the measure will “save consumers money, it will begin to reverse our addiction to oil and it takes a small first step in our fight to turn the tide of global warming.”

The centerpiece of the final bill is language requiring a 40 percent increase in vehicle fuel economy standards, raising the average fleet standard to 35 miles a gallon by 2020.

“The last time America raised fuel economy standards was 30 years ago,” Reid said. “We didn’t have air bags, the Internet was a science fiction fantasy and the closest thing to GPS [global positioning system] was a map.”

The provision, which drew reluctant support from the U.S. auto industry, is expected to save 1.1 million barrels of oil a day and save consumers some $22 billion in 2020. Proponents say it will also make a significant dent in U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases, equivalent to taking some 60 million cars off the road.

“It demonstrates to the world that America is a leader in fighting global warming,” said Senator Daniel Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat and coauthor of the fuel economy language.

The bill also includes a five-fold increase in domestic production of biofuels – requiring the use of 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022- and tightens energy efficiency standards for government buildings as well as for consumer appliances and products.

“People underestimate efficiency, but today household appliances, lighting and electronics use up to two-thirds of energy in households,” said Senator Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat. “By requiring these new standards for manufacture of these products, we will save over 40,000 megawatts of energy. That is the same amount of electricity used in 19 states today.”

Approval of the final legislation came after Senate Democrats had attempted to preserve the tax package by trying to end a Republican filibuster of the bill.

The $22 billion tax package would have extended tax credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources, with support also earmarked for fuel cell development, clean coal. Much of the tax package would have been paid for by the repeal of several oil industry tax breaks, potentially costing the industry more than $13.5 billion.

Oil industry lobbyists had generated opposition to the tax package from Republican senators, who said it was unfair and unwise to raise taxes on oil companies.

“What this will do is decrease supply and increase price,” said Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, a Texas Republican.

Other Republicans stressed President Bush’s threat to veto the bill over the tax package.

“He has said: ‘If the taxes are in, the bill is gone,'” said Senator Pete Domenici, a New Mexico Republican. “So it looks to me as if those who want a winner ought to vote to take the taxes.”

Ahead of that vote, Reid urged colleagues “not to be stampeded” by pressure from the White House.

“We have to flex our legislative muscle and do the right thing,” said Reid.

The 59-40 vote fell one short of the number needed to end debate, effectively forcing Reid to strip the tax package from the bill.

Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu was the lone Democrat to oppose ending debate. Arizona Republican John McCain, who is running for president, was the lone senator not to vote.

“The future just failed by one vote,” said Senator Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat in the wake of the cloture vote. “The past was preserved … the oil companies are now celebrating in their boardrooms. Not only do they have the highest profits in history, they continue to have a death grip on this Senate.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the final bill reflected political reality.

“The final product is not perfect but it is vastly better than the version that was sent to us by the House of Representatives,” said McConnell, a Kentucky Republican. “We in the Senate recognized that the House bill couldn’t pass the Senate and wouldn’t be signed into law so we fixed it and now it will.

Many national environmental groups praised passage of the measure, highlighting the increase in fuel economy standards, but others were less congratulatory

Senate Democrats “should show some backbone,” said Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder, who criticizing them for bowing to Republican pressure by removing the “two most positive provisions in the bill.”

Countries Agree to Write New Climate Action Pact – Governments meeting in Bali today agreed to launch negotiations towards a strengthened international climate change pact. The new treaty will be a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires at the end of 2012.

Countries Agree to Write New Climate Action Pact

The decision by 187 countries includes a clear agenda for the key issues to be negotiated by 2009. The agenda will cover action for adapting to the negative consequences of climate change, such as droughts and floods; ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; ways to widely deploy climate-friendly technologies; and financing of both adaptation and mitigation measures.

Concluding negotiations in 2009 will ensure that the new deal can enter into force by 2013, following the expiration of the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol.

“This is a real breakthrough, a real opportunity for the international community to successfully fight climate change,” said Indonesian Environment Minister and President of the conference, Rachmat Witoelar. “Parties have recognised the urgency of action on climate change and have now provided the political response to what scientists have been telling us is needed.”

Delegates applauded the consensus, and also the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in appreciation of their hard work and efficiency in guiding the negotiations.

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said, “We now have a roadmap, we have an agenda and we have a deadline.”

“But we also have a huge task ahead of us and time to reach agreement is extremely short, so we need to move quickly,” he said.

The U.S. delegation at Bali agreed with the consensus early this morning after previously expressing reservations. The United States blocked the inclusion of firm emissions targets by a date certain that were endorsed by the European Union countries and others.

In discussions during the high-level segment of the meeting, which has been underway since Wednesday, Canada’s Environment Minister John Baird said his government is determined to honor existing commitments. Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol but under the current Conservative government has backed away from its commitment, saying it would be impossible to achieve.

Baird supported a long-term global target to cut emissions in half by 2050. He urged engagement of “all major emitting countries, with appropriate levels of ambition and timetables in a new binding agreement.”

Not waiting for the national governments to reach agreement world mayors and local governments have committed themselves to leadership and action with the launch of a global agreement to address the issue of global warming.

The World Mayors and Local Governments Climate Protection Agreement, introduced Wednesday by Mayor Michael Bloomber of New York, sets forth six commitments that not only address the challenge of climate change, but also accept the opportunities it presents.

“Today, two powerful and historic forces converge – the urbanization of the world’s people and our alteration of the world’s climate,” Mayor Bloomberg told a conference session Wednesday. “Both trends are accelerating.”

“Fifty years ago, fewer than 100 of the world’s cities had populations of one million or more people,” he said. “Within 10 years, nearly 500 cities will.

“The evidence of escalating climate change is indisputable and the world’s cities, which account for 80 percent of humanity’s production of greenhouse gases, recognize that inaction is not an option,” the New York mayor said.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and London Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron at their press conference. (Photo courtesy ENB)
“Let’s focus on what the nations that you represent, and the cities that I speak for, can do, rather than what they can’t,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “In that spirit, I ask you to take these two steps in finalizing the Bali Roadmap.”

“First, set out, honestly and fully, the duties that we all share. If we are to stabilize the world’s climate, science says we must cut carbon emissions by some 60 percent to 80 percent worldwide by mid-century,” he said.

Local governments Wednesday launched the World Mayors and Local Government Climate Protection Agreement, committing themselves to these targets.

“And second, I ask you to make the cities and local governments of the world an integral part of this process,” Bloomberg said.

“Mayors and local governments, if genuinely empowered and resourced, can lead emissions reductions to ensure high global targets are met,” explained Deputy Mayor of London Nicky Gavron. ” Cities and urban areas are responsible for 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. If governments don’t give us the means to deliver deep cuts we cannot avoid catastrophic impacts from climate change.”

The World Mayors and Local Governments Climate Protection Agreement is being launched by ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, the World Mayors Council on Climate Change, United Cities and Local Governments, and the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group. Collectively, these organizations represent a majority of global cities and local governments.

“My hope is that when this conference re-convenes in 2008, local officials from every land will be able to speak for themselves, not as outsiders, but as full members of their national delegations, said Mayor Bloomberg. “That will set the stage for their playing a productive role in negotiating the successor to the Kyoto Protocol in Copenhagen in 2009.”

Canadian Bulk Carrier Spills Oil Into Maumee River – Droves of cleanup workers spent much of the weekend trying to contain and collect 3,300 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled into Ohio’s Maumee River Friday night by a Canadian bulk carrier.

Canadian Bulk Carrier Spills Oil Into Maumee River

Loaded with grain, the Algonorth was leaving the Midwest Marine Terminal Friday night when the vessel’s stern smashed into the dock, rupturing two fuel tanks 10 feet above the water line, according to the U.S. Coast Guard and company officials.

The 730 foot carrier is owned by Algoma Central Marine of St. Catharines, Ontario and managed by Seaway Marine Transport.

The spill forced a closure of the Maumee River, the largest river flowing into the Great Lakes. Four commercial vessels were delayed as a result. After a 14-hour river closure, the Captain of the Port opened the river just after noon Saturday.

Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Toledo, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the city of Toledo, Environmental Services and oil spill response contractors continue to respond to the spill of 3,100 gallons of light diesel and 200 gallons of blended fuel.

The Coast Guard and clean-up contractors deployed a 2,400 foot boom of containment material in the vicinity of the spill.

An additional 1,600 feet of boom is available but is not needed, since most of the spill will have evaporated or dissipated by now making it unrecoverable, incident team officials said.

BP Oil, Sun Oil and the Northern Ohio and Michigan Aid consortium provided resources to the response.

Boats from Coast Guard Station Toledo and an HH-65 helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit provided surface and aerial patrols to search for impacted areas.

Prevailing winds blew some of the floating fuel to the shore at the Midwest Terminal where workers tried to suck up the fuel with vacuum trucks and absorb it with large pads.

The spill was the largest in the Maumee River in years, officials said, but it could have been far worse. The spill amounted to less than one percent of the fuel on the ship, said Captain John Greenway, vice president of operations for Seaway Marine Transport, which manages the Algonorth.

But the spill worsens environmental conditions on the river, which was just beginning to recover from decades of dumping toxic waste, pesticides and herbicides.

The 1987 U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement lists 43 Areas of Concern – specific geographic regions where aquatic life is impaired. The Maumee River is one of them.

The Great Lakes Wiki information service, which tracks the 43 Areas of Concern, says, “The river has begun to recover and is exhibiting signs of a healthy ecosystem. Walleye are beginning to run and breed on a regular basis. The eagles have begun to re-occupy their niche here as well.”

The spilled fuel spread over about a square mile, but most of it should evaporate, officials said. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

New Jersey Sues Over Pennsylvania Power Plant Pollution – Because air pollution recognizes no borders, the state of New Jersey today filed suit against the owner of a coal-fired power plant across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania.

New Jersey Sues Over Pennsylvania Power Plant Pollution

Alleging that Reliant Energy MidAtlantic Power Holdings modified its coal-fired Portland Generating Station in Pennsylvania in ways that increased emissions, New Jersey filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania.

The lawsuit alleges that Reliant has violated the federal Clean Air Act by modifying and operating the Portland power plant without required pollution control equipment and construction permits and without the best available pollution control technology.

The Portland plant is located in Northampton County less than a mile from New Jersey’s western border. It is upwind and directly across the Delaware River from New Jersey’s Warren County, inhabited by about 105,000 people.

“The Portland Generating Station continues to operate each day in violation of federal law, and pollutants from the plant continue to carry across the Delaware River on prevailing winds, harming the air breathed by New Jersey residents,” said Attorney General Anne Milgram.

Air pollution knows no borders (Photo credit unknown)

A July 2007 report by the Environmental Integrity Project entitled “Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants,” ranks Portland as number five in terms of having the highest sulfur dioxide emission rate per megawatt generated in the entire country.

Enough is enough,” said Lisa Jackson, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, DEP. “It seems that we cannot rely on Reliant, except to put the public in harm’s way.

The fact is, while Reliant continues to shirk its environmental responsibilities, New Jersey residents are being exposed to a host of pollutants, and we simply will not let this go on,” Jackson said.

New Jersey’s lawsuit asks the court to enjoin Reliant from operating the Portland plant unless it is in compliance with the Clean Air Act.

The complaint also asks that Reliant be required to install and operate “best available” control technologies for each pollutant.

The lawsuit also asks that Reliant be ordered to conduct an audit of its operations to determine if any additional plant modifications have occurred that are not included among those discussed in the state’s complaint.

The lawsuit seeks assessment of “an appropriate civil penalty” against Reliant and the other defendants who are previous owners of the power plant, and asks the court to award New Jersey legal fees and costs associated with bringing the lawsuit.

New Jersey tried to address the increased emissions from the Portland power plant through a variety of legal actions over the past year.

In December 2006, the state filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, for violating the Clean Air Act by not responding to a petition from the DEP that objected to a proposed operating permit for the plant.

When federal agency had not acted on the petition by February, the state filed suit contending that the agency was not doing its job, and that its failure to act on New Jersey’s objection was contributing to the state’s inability to attain its clean air goals.

On June 20, the EPA issued a final order denying the New Jersey petition request. The state responded by filing an appeal of the EPA ruling in the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. That appeal is still pending, as is a petition for reconsideration of the original denial filed with EPA.

“This facility poses an environmental danger, and our concerns have not been given due consideration by the EPA,” Attorney General Milgram said.

The state’s petition for reconsideration before the EPA asserts that increases in air emissions at the Portland Generating Station would violate national air quality standards designed to protect public health in the vicinity of the plant both in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

FutureGen World’s Cleanest Coal Plant Sited in Illinois – A consortium of some of the world’s largest coal companies and electric utilities has selected the small east-central Illinois town of Mattoon for FutureGen, a $1.4 billion coal-fueled power plant that is planned as the cleanest in the world.

FutureGen World’s Cleanest Coal Plant Sited in Illinois

The FutureGen Alliance today announced that Mattoon was chosen over three other sites in Tuscola, Illinois; Jewett, Texas; and Odessa, Texas.

“The Alliance would like to congratulate Mattoon, Illinois for being chosen as the final site to host the FutureGen facility,” said Mike Mudd, CEO of the FutureGen Alliance, making the announcement at the National Press Club in Washington. “Officials from Mattoon should be commended for their determination and dedication to the FutureGen program.”

The Mattoon site consists of 444 acres of privately owned farmland located one mile northwest of Mattoon, in Coles County, Illinois. The site has access to the Canadian National (Illinois Central) Railroad and access to Interstate 57 via a new interchange.

The 275-megawatt prototype plant will serve as a large scale engineering laboratory for testing new clean power, carbon capture, and coal-to-hydrogen technologies.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is delighted with the choice of Mattoon. “We are thrilled that Illinois will be home to FutureGen,” he said. “This decision represents the culmination of years of hard work and dedication, and we are honored that the FutureGen Alliance and the U.S. Department of Energy have entrusted us with this groundbreaking project.”

“FutureGen’s ‘near zero-emission’ coal-gasification technology holds great promise to revolutionize our nation’s coal industry and ensure that coal continues to be an integral part of our energy future while reducing the greenhouse gases that cause climate change,” the governor said. “As the entire world watches, Illinois is ready to get to work to ensure that FutureGen is a success.”

The FutureGen Initiative, announced by President George W. Bush on February 27, 2003, is based on recommendations in the National Energy Policy issued in May 2001.

At the heart of the project will be coal gasification technologies will turn coal into a highly enriched hydrogen gas, which can be burned much more cleanly than directly burning the coal itself.

For the first time coal gasification will be integrated with carbon dioxide, CO2, capture and geologic sequestration to prevent this greenhouse gas from adding to atmospheric accumulations responsible for global warming.

The hydrogen also can be used in a fuel cell to produce ultra-clean electricity, or fed to a refinery to help upgrade petroleum products.

The process is supposed to be able to eliminate common air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides and convert them to useable by-products such as fertilizers and soil enhancers. Mercury pollutants also will be removed.

The Energy Department will contribute more than $1 billion for the project with remaining costs shared among members of the 12 member FutureGen alliance which includes Australian, British, and Chinese partners as well as large U.S. companies such as American Electric Power, Peabody Energy, Rio Tinto Energy America, and Southern Company.

“This project makes coal, one of the most abundant fossil energies in the world, available in the future in the face of growing concern over greenhouse gas emissions and climate change,” Jeff Jarrett, DOE assistant secretary of fossil energy, said at the FutureGen short-list announcement in 2006.

The final Environmental Impact Statement, EIS, issued by the Energy Department November 9 acknowledges that the sequestered CO2 might leak due to the “presence of undetected faults, wells penetrating the primary seal, or other subsurface pathways.”

Other unknowns outlined in the EIS include the “exact quantities of materials delivered and byproducts produced, their method of transportation, and the disposition of waste” and the “exact noise profiles of power plant equipment, their proximity to nearby receptors and types and quantities of construction equipment.”

Also problematic are the “current and future water levels in potentially affected streams near the Mattoon site,” the EIS states.

The DOE outlines what it believes to be beneficial impacts of FutureGen other than a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

“The ability to effectively and economically capture CO2 emissions from existing power plants could spur the construction of new CO2 pipelines across the country to geologic formations suitable for CO2 sequestration,” the EIS says.

“In the near term, it is likely that the most economical geologic sequestration projects would support enhanced oil recovery or enhanced coalbed methane operations,” according to the EIS.

“If CO2 becomes a regulated air pollutant in the U.S. in the future, sequestration in deep saline aquifers (which are generally more geographically dispersed throughout the U.S. than oil and gas reservoirs) may become more likely targets for carbon sequestration,” the EIS states.

The selection of Mattoon will be finalized upon the Department of Energy’s issuance of the National Environmental Policy Act Record of Decision and other contract documents.

FutureGen will give an economic boost to the the region and the state. A recent study by Southern Illinois University-Carbondale found that the project will have a much larger impact than the 1,300 construction jobs and 150 permanent jobs the DOE estimates will be created.

The study showed that during the four-year construction period, there would be more than $1 billion in economic impact statewide and 1,225 indirect and induced spin-off jobs created as a result of the economic ripple effect generated by FutureGen.

Once the facility is operational, the study noted that FutureGen would generate $135 million annually in total statewide economic output, with an $85 million annual increase in Coles County alone.

“Today I could not be more proud to represent this victorious region,” said Illinois State Senator Dale Righter, Republican who represents Mattoon. “This has been a community effort from day one to prepare a site for such an innovative venture. I look forward to the next step where we make this promise of economic evolution a reality.” To read the Final FutureGen Environmental Impact Statement, click here.

Four Dead Environmentally Friendly Chemical Plant Explodes in Florida – Four workers were killed by an explosion today at a chemical plant in Jacksonville that manufactures environmentally friendly industrial chemicals.

Four Dead Environmentally Friendly Chemical Plant Explodes in Florida

The blast occurred at the T2 Laboratories on Faye Road in an industrial district on the waterfront in north Jacksonville. The explosion sent a thick cloud of black smoke over the area that could be seen from the city’s downtown business district.

More than 70 firefighters and every hazardous materials crew in Jacksonville attended the scene of the explosion.

People within a half mile radius of the lab were evacuated. The evacuation order was lifted just after 4 pm local time after the fire was under control and air tests showed no hazardous chemicals.

This afternoon fire and rescue personnel confirmed that three people were killed and more than a dozen others were taken to area hospitals. At first, six people were thought to be missing, but three have been locate, said fire rescue spokesman Tom Francis. Later in the day, officials confirmed that another person also died as a result of the blast.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board will be investigating the incident. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office homicide unit also has begun an investigation.

T2 Laboratories manufactures low environmental impact specialty chemicals that replace conventional industrial chemicals.

The company makes Ecotane® – a manganese-based octane improver for gasoline that reduces tailpipe emissions used by refineries and gasoline blenders. The additive is EPA-approved for use in the United States, and is used in more than 70 other countries.

T2 Labs specializes in the manufacture of specialty terpene solvents from citrus and pine-derived feedstocks.

The company also manufactures a number of limonene-type solvents from turpentine, the essential oil of the pine tree.

Another of the company’s solvents is made of d-limonene, a by-product of citrus oil processing used for wipe-cleaning in aerospace applications.

And T2 Labs makes a paraffin remover for oil and gas wells that it claims on its website “removes blockages and improves flow dramatically without exposing workers to hazardous chemicals.”

The company also makes biorational pesticides, derived from a variety of biological sources, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. They are considered third-generation pesticides that are environmentally sound and closely resemble chemicals produced by insects and plants.