Bush Lifts Ban on Off-Shore Drilling
| Grasspave2 If you are want to revolutionize parking, concert arenas, or high erosion areas then you should consider the Grasspave2 parking system. |
| Do You Make These Energy Mistakes? Don’t make these energy mistakes or you could be hurting and not helping your energy bill! |
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| 2007 Hybrid Cars Check out the 2007 hybrid cars that are making an impact with the green and automotive communities alike. |
| Hybrid cars break even The auto web site, Edmunds.com, is now saying that some hybrid cars are worth their premium price tag due to higher gas costs and tax credits from the government. |
| Water Guzzlers Removed from City Hall Last Friday, Mayor Hickenlooper announced that new water-saving toilets and urinals are being installed in the City and County Building. Over the next couple of weeks, 133 water-guzzling toilets (averaging 3.5-5.0 gallons per flush) and 28 urinals (averaging 1-5 gallons per flush) will be replaced with 1.6-gallon toilets and half-gallon urinals. In 2006, occupants used [.] |
| Press Release: EDF Praises Choice of Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Sharyn Stein, 202-572-3396, sstein@edf.org
Washington, D.C. – December 17, 2008 – Former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack is a solid choice for America’s next Secretary of Agriculture, according to Environmental Defense Fund.
“Governor Vilsack recognizes that farmers, ranchers and forest landowners have an important role to play in combating climate change,” said Robert Bonnie, Vice President of Land, Water and Wildlife for Environmental Defense Fund. “He is a strong supporter of a cap and trade program for greenhouse gases, carbon offsets, and other measures to help stop global warming. We think he’ll be a great addition to the Obama Administration’s environmental team.”
Environmental Defense Fund also praised Vilsack for his devotion to environmentally beneficial farm policy programs.
“Governor Vilsack has a long history of supporting voluntary conservation programs focused on working agricultural lands, and he has advocated for sensible farm policy reforms.” said Sara Hopper, Agricultural Policy Director for Environmental Defense Fund. “He understands the importance of cooperating with private landowners to ensure that we address our most pressing environmental challenges.”
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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.
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| Press Release: CARB Economic Models Limited in Ability to Capture AB 32 Economic Benefits (Sacramento, CA - December 5, 2008)— A new study released today concludes that state-of-the-science economic models, including those used for CARB’s economic analyses of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), are not capable of simulating the fundamental changes in California’s economy that AB 32 measures are likely to cause. While critics of ARB claim that costs might be underestimated, this new study shows that many benefits also are not represented by models and more modeling isn’t as useful as consideration of lessons from prior policies and economics literature. The study is timely because the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will vote on the Proposed Scoping Plan to implement the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) on December 11, less than a week away.
The study, Understanding the Challenges of Modeling AB 32 Policy, was conducted by Richard J. McCann, the Aspen Environmental Group and M.Cubed, and commissioned by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which cosponsored AB 32 (see full report and executive summary for policymakers).
In the new study, Dr. McCann reveals that current techniques in economic modeling can predict the general impact of a policy option, but are limited in their ability to compare different policy alternatives and predict technology innovation. Consequently, the report recommends that CARB’s policy choices are better informed by focusing on lessons and principles from other market-based programs, notably cap-and-trade, a significant policy choice in the Proposed Scoping Plan.
“Any critiques of CARB’s economic analyses of AB 32 policies should take into account that even the most sophisticated modeling tools are limited in their ability to capture behaviors and innovations that lead to beneficial outcomes,” said James Fine, Ph.D., an economist and policy scientist for EDF. “This report highlights the advantages of market-based approaches and the difficulty in modeling those advantages.”
This study identifies several advantages with cap and trade policy, such as compliance cost minimization, technological innovation, adaptability and relief of regulatory burdens on agencies.
Key findings of the study include:
“While it is possible to tinker with various assumptions and perform more modeling runs to try and estimate the statewide impacts of various policy scenarios, it is not likely to add valuable or reliable information to the discussion,” added Fine. “Instead, this report recommends policymakers consider knowledge and experience about the basic systems of incentives for innovation and flexibility for compliance cost reduction that have been proven by other market-based policies.”
“It is critical to look beyond economic analyses,” concluded Fine. “It also is important to recognize our past experiences, the economic principles and existing regulatory portfolio in California that led to the development of the measures in the Scoping Plan. Rather than continuing with an esoteric tit-for-tat debate about the quality of modeling analyses, the broader lessons and logic provide clear rationale to move forward with the directionally sound Scoping Plan. Comprehensive, intelligent and speedy action in California can help mitigate the costs of climate change, provide an economic stimulus, improve air quality and reduce our dependence on imported energy.”
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| Sustainable global environment A sustainable global environment is a reality, but why are we not making moves to accomplish it?. |
| Bush Lifts Ban on Off-Shore Drilling In a move destined to have no effect whatsoever on gasoline prices in the near term, and possibly ever, President Bush lifted the ban on offshore drilling. This follows a tradition of disregard for the facts, the science and the truth that has long characterized the administration’s actions. |