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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 29th, 2008 Energy Change: Its Coming! We know what greenwashing is. We’re all in favor of energy independence. We’re familiar with green building, energy audits, and carbon footprints. But a new age of green buzzwords is emerging that carry even more meaning than their predecessors. Instead of representing one angle or aspect of going green, these new phrases encompass the entire idea, including economic and societal implications. Specifically, the phrase I’m referring to is Alternative Energy Economy. *** Alternative Energy Economy: Either way, those terms have come to represent a paradigm shift in how the world sees and uses energy. They’re all-encompassing terms, synonymous with energy revolution, moonshot, and the Manhattan Project. Some are calling it the Apollo Project for a new century. Nick Hodge talks already of a “Green Energy Gold Rush.” Here’s what it means, in a nutshell. First off, decreasing our reliance on oil—both foreign and domestic—could start to inject some of the $1 trillion or more we spend on the stuff every year. Much more if you count the security costs. Of course, we won’t become oil independent overnight, but every barrel saved is a deposit in the collective domestic piggy bank. *** This is the first pillar of an alternative energy economy: energy conservation and renewed investment. *** From there, we can look forward to direct, tangible benefits to the real economy. To get into them, we need a starting point, a base case. With the election a week away, and most critical state polls heavily favoring the democratic candidate, let’s use Barack Obama’s alternative energy plan as a springboard. (Please note: This is not an endorsement of Obama or a counting-the-chickens-before-they-hatch scenario, but rather an objective reference based on the available poll data and the likely outcome of the election at this writing.) ***** An Obama-Based Alternative Energy Economy: The plan seeks to rapidly accelerate the world’s transition to renewable fuels, while turbocharging the economy and weaning us off our dependency for cheap credit at the same time. *** He wants to launch an “Apollo project” to build a new alternative energy economy. His rationale for doing so includes some hard truths about the current economic mess: “The engine of economic growth for the past 20 years is not going to be there for the next 20. That was consumer spending. Basically, we turbocharged this economy based on cheap credit.” But the days of easy credit are over, Obama said, “because there is too much deleveraging taking place, too much debt.” A new economic turbocharger is going to have to be found, and “there is no better potential driver that pervades all aspects of our economy than a new energy economy … That’s going to be my No. 1 priority when I get into office. *** According to the Apollo Alliance, which Obama supports, a rigorous program channeling $500 billion over 10 years to alternative energy projects is needed. That money would be dedicated to: Generate clean power (25% from renewable sources by 2025) Improve energy conservation and efficiency Cut energy bills Improve US technological and industrial capabilities Create 5 million green-collar jobs Compared to what we’re currently facing, each one of those bullets would be a welcomed change. 25% renewable power compared to today’s 6%. Improved energy conservation and efficiency instead of complacent energy waste and misuse. Reduced energy bills compared to the current high and volatile prices. A renewed dedication to science and math, from childhood on up, that puts America back on top of today’s information-based economy and allows us to export energy technology to the rest of the world. The creation of 5 million new well-paid and secure green jobs instead of the 760,000 we’ve lost so far this year. Such is the second pillar of an alternative energy economy: initiating programs from the top down that facilitate a culture change in which the country makes solving the energy crisis a priority and an opportunity. *** Realizing an Alternative Energy Economy:
Once the policies have been implemented and the strategy is in place, action will commence. Free market initiative combined with government oversite and support will lead to renewed and sustained investment, the creation of jobs, and the deployment of voluminous amounts of renewable energy projects and capacity in the form of new wind farms, solar installations, geothermal and tidal use, electric vehicles, and new electricity transmission. The government will have new tax revenue to support energy projects, the real economy will benefit from newfound jobs and savings from stable energy prices for home and auto, and American society will benefit from private and corporate re-investment in our education system and communities. That’s how I see the fundamentals of an alternative energy economy. Of course, there will be long-term, unquantifiable, and unforeseen benefits as well—cleaner air, increased productivity, national pride, and a sense of unity to name few. And, along with new new investment at the government and private early round levels, will come new green investment opportunities for us and increased profits from the already established renewable energy companies. Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 29th, 2008 From: kmaser at awma.org Greenhouse Gas Measurement Symposium Call for Abstracts The Air and Waste Management Association (A&WMA) is pleased to announce the first international Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Measurement Symposium to be held March 23 and 24, 2009 in San Francisco, CA. The conference provides a discussion forum for novel concepts in GHG emission source measurement, measurement based modeling, and surrogate-monitoring assessment in the context of future compliance, verification, and emission trading strategies. The conference will be of interest to industrial plant operators, regulators, instrument suppliers, and researchers. It will provide a forum for stakeholders in the future implementation of GHG trading and emissions inventories to exchange ideas and review the application of measurement based approaches for GHG emissions quantification. Requested abstract and platform presentations topics include but are not limited to: An abstract of 300 words or less must be submitted for review by December 5, 2008. Please submit your abstract to Carrie Hartz at chartz at awma.org. Authors will be notified of acceptance by January 16, 2009. A draft extended abstract (three to five pages) is due by February 13, 2009. A final extended abstract is due by March 6, 2009. Receipt of the final extended abstract is a mandatory prerequisite for presentation at the conference Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 28th, 2008 From The Hart Energy Conference Team: conferences@hartenergy.com
The defensive line-up of speakers on what tomorrow holds for what is defined as the energy industry.
At www.SustainabiliTank.info we have no bone with the above line-up, but we hope that coming 2009 the subject will expand to hold many more factors, and the Administration in Washington will go well beyond thinking that the Governor of Alaska is an energy specialist. Further, we do actually commend Fred Potter, and his organization, for including Renewable Energy in his line-up, but we would have picked for this part some foreign speakers that could have told the mainly Texas Oil audience of what the expectations are World-Wide. Also, bringing in Toyota and Volvo seems to be a sign of strength - and we hope that GM and Ford will find something to learn here. Anyone heard of electric cars? Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 24th, 2008 From: justin at climateregistry.org This kick-off meeting will also provide an opportunity for discussion of other possible project activities related to organic waste diversion since the baseline calculation methodology for co-digestion activities will likely be relevant to other project activities in the organic waste diversion sector. If you plan on attending, please RSVP to policy at climateregistry.org by November 7, 2008. A detailed agenda will be provided to all attendees prior to the meeting. The California Climate Action Registry is developing the Co-Digestion Protocol - its first organic waste diversion project protocol. As a first foray into the organic waste diversion sector, the California Registry will host a public meeting to discuss the development of a co-digestion greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction project protocol and wants to invite all interested stakeholders to join us. The meeting will be held on November 13 from 10:00AM to 3:30PM PST at the Standard Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The California Registry is dedicated to the development of high quality, standardized protocols for GHG reduction projects. The Co-Digestion Protocol will provide an accurate GHG accounting methodology for GHG reduction projects that co-digest (alongside manure waste) organic waste streams that otherwise would have gone to anaerobic treatment/disposal systems such as solid waste landfills, anaerobic lagoons, and wastewater treatment facilities. Co-digestion projects will prevent the release of methane to the atmosphere by capturing and combusting methane gas. This kick-off meeting will also provide an opportunity for discussion of other possible project activities related to organic waste diversion since the baseline calculation methodology for co-digestion activities will likely be relevant to other project activities in the organic waste diversion sector. The California Registry would like to encourage all interested stakeholders to join us, including representatives and experts from: If you plan on attending, please RSVP to policy at climateregistry.org by November 7, 2008. A detailed agenda will be provided to all attendees prior to the meeting. Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 24th, 2008 The Green Bible Published by HarperOne on October 7, 2008, The Green Bible will equip and encourage people to see God’s vision for creation and help them engage in the work of healing and sustaining it. With over 1,000 references to the earth in the Bible, compared to 490 references to heaven and 530 references to love, the Bible carries a powerful message for the earth. Green-Letter Edition: Verses and passages that speak to God’s care for creation highlighted in green —————– Religion and Ecology Events at the American Academy of Religion We want to remind you about the numerous events related to the field of religion and ecology that will be taking place at this year’s annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Chicago from October 31 - November 3, 2008. A list of these events can be found on the Forum website at: The AAR is a professional, membership-based organization primarily for teachers of religious studies in colleges and universities as well as secondary schools. Please note that paid registration for the annual meeting is required. Further details and registration information can be found at: http://www.aarweb.org/Meetings/Annual_Me… The Forum is assisting with the following two events, which are free and open to the public: Forum on Religion and Ecology Session “Where Religion and Ecology Meet: The Field and the Force” Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 22nd, 2008 UN DAILY NEWS from the UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE TOP ECONOMISTS TO MEET BAN KI-MOON TO DISCUSS IMPACT OF GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will meet with a group of eminent economists tomorrow as part of his evaluation of the impact of the global financial crisis on United Nations efforts to achieve the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Five economists will participate in the meeting in New York, which will also consider the effects of the financial crisis on climate change, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters today. The economists are Joseph Stieglitz of Columbia University; Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University; Dani Rodrik of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard; Nancy Birdsall, President of the Centre for Global Development, a think tank; and Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia. ***
“Now more than ever we must be bold. In these times of crisis, when we are tempted to look inward, it is precisely the time when we must move pursuit of the common good to the top of the agenda,” Mr. Ban said in a speech delivered yesterday at Harvard. He later added: “While recently we have heard much in this country about how problems on Wall Street are affecting innocent people on Main Street, we need to think more about those people around the world with no streets. Wall Street, Main Street, no street – the solutions devised must be for all.” In addition, the world cannot afford to delay action on the issue of climate change, which Mr. Ban called “the ultimate global and existential threat.” He urged countries to conclude a new comprehensive climate deal that can be ratified and in place before the current commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. *** {Lots Of Wind in High Places - But The Good Side Is That This Meeting Hapens After November 5th and we expect it will touch upon the neeede changes at The World Bank and The International Monetary Fund so they work for the benefit of all countries. } ————————————– RECORD-BREAKING 117 MILLION PEOPLE STAND WITH UN AGAINST POVERTY Shattering previous records, nearly 117 million people in 131 countries stood up last weekend as part of a United Nations-led campaign to demand that world leaders keep their promises to halve extreme poverty and achieve the other Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by their target date of 2015. Over 8,000 events were held around the globe, from Afghanistan and Burundi to Thailand and Uganda, as part of the “Stand Up and Take Action against Poverty” campaign held from 17 to 19 October. “We are very proud that there has been such a massive citizen response for the Millennium Development Goals and against poverty,” Salil Shetty, Director of the UN Millennium Campaign, which initiated the project, told reporters in New York today. Nearly 117 million people – close to 2 per cent of the world’s population – took part in Stand Up-related events, breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest social mobilization ever on a single issue. Another 5 million people took part in events that were not submitted before the Guinness deadline. This represents a huge increase over 2006, when some 23 million people stood up against poverty, and 2007, when that number grew to almost 44 million. Mr. Shetty said the biggest mobilizations happened in Asia (over 73 million people), followed by Africa (more than 24 million) and the Arab States (nearly 18 million). “It’s very appropriate that the parts of the world which are having to live with the daily reality of poverty are the ones who did the biggest mobilization,” he noted. Highlights of the campaign include the more than 35 million people, or one-third of the population, in the Philippines who stood at various events throughout the country. In addition, Rwandan President Paul Kagame exhorted 10,000 of his fellow citizens to use their hard-won peace as a foundation to fight poverty, during an event at Rubavu Stadium in Western Province. Meanwhile, 400,000 students in the West Bank and 200,000 in Gaza stood up as part of an annual programme to teach them about the MDGs. Mr. Shetty added that with the countdown to 2015 well under way, many of the events held around the world were a “wake-up call and a reminder to governments that time is running out and we expect leaders to take action.” In a message issued for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on 17 October, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reminded governments of their commitments to achieving the MDGs, saying that many had pledged new resources to bolster food security, eradicate disease, ensure access to water and sanitation, and manage the financial crisis. “These commitments are not a matter of charity, but an obligation in the pursuit of human rights for all. If we fail to keep our promise on the MDGs, we create the conditions for greater human misery and global insecurity,” he warned. —————— UN TO PUBLISH FIRST-EVER WORLD MAP OF UNDERGROUND FRESHWATER RESOURCES The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will publish the first-ever world map of underground aquifers, which account for some 96 per cent of global freshwater resources, the agency announced in a press release today. Despite their strategic importance, no global inventory of aquifers – most of which straddle international boundaries – had been compiled before UNESCO started work on its online map, which will be launched to coincide with the submission to the General Assembly of a draft Convention on Transboundary Aquifers next week. The UNESCO is presenting a detailed map identifying underground water resources that are shared by at least two countries, using data compiled since 2000 by UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme for a groundwater database. The map will include information about the quality of water and rate of replenishment of the 273 transboundary aquifers – 68 in the American continent, 38 in Africa, 65 in Eastern Europe, 90 in Western Europe and 12 in Asia. Underground aquifers account for 70 per cent of water used in the European Union, and are often the only source of supply in arid and semi-arid areas – 100 per cent in Saudi Arabia and Malta, 95 per cent in Tunisia and 75 per cent in Morocco. Irrigation systems also depend largely on groundwater resources in many countries – 90 per cent in Libya, 89 per cent in India, 84 per cent in South Africa and 80 per cent in Spain. Aquifers, which contain 100 times the volume of freshwater than that on the Earth’s surface, in Africa are still largely under exploited. They are among the largest in the world and since they generally expand over several national boundaries, their exploitation presupposes an agreed management mechanism. Mechanisms of this kind have begun to emerge, such as the agreement in the 1990s between Chad, Egypt, Libya and Sudan which established a joint authority to manage the Nubian aquifer system, but such arrangements are the exception, according to the UNESCO release. The draft Convention presented to the General Assembly on 27 October is intended to facilitate the creation of such mechanisms for administering transboundary aquifer systems by calling on aquifer states not to harm existing aquifers, to cooperate, and to prevent and control their pollution. * * * —————- Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 20th, 2008 US Foreign Policy Towards a Rising Asia - A Conversation with Senator Chuck Hagel
Friday, October 24, 2008 Senator Hagel is completing his second term in the United States Senate and is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. At a time of unprecedented global financial uncertainty and imminent political change in the United States, Senator Hagel will discuss how America can best face its challenges and capitalize on its opportunities in the rising Asia-Pacific region. Senator Hagel is the author of America: Our Next Chapter, which outlines proposals for the country’s greatest challenges of the 21st century. Presiding Copies of America: Our Next Chapter will be available for purchase and signing. This book is also available for purchase at the Asia Society bookstore. Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 18th, 2008 Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008, The Japan Times nline. Moving from Christian to Muslim democracy. By JAN-WERNER MUELLER
*** A breakthrough came with the Italian Popular Party’s founding in 1919. Its leader, Don Luigi Sturzo, wanted it to appeal to tutti i liberi e forti — all free and strong men. The Vatican, having prohibited Italian Catholics from participating in the political life of newly united Italy for almost 60 years, lifted its ban. Mussolini soon outlawed the Popolari, and in any event, the Vatican had had a strained relationship with the party, appearing more comfortable supporting pro-Catholic authoritarian regimes in countries like Austria and Portugal. While Christian democracy got nowhere politically between the world wars, momentous changes were initiated in Catholic thought. In particular, the French Catholic thinker Jacques Maritain developed arguments as to why Christians should embrace democracy and human rights. During the 1920s, Maritain was close to the far-right Action Francaise, but the pope condemned the movement in 1926 for essentially being a group of faithless Catholics more interested in authoritarian nationalism than Christianity. Maritain accepted the pope’s verdict and began a remarkable ideological journey toward democracy. He criticized France’s attempts to appear as a modern crusader, incurring the wrath of Catholics in the United States in particular. More importantly, he began to recast some of Aristotle’s teachings and medieval natural law doctrines to arrive at a conception of human rights. He also drew on the philosophy of “personalism” — which was highly fashionable in the 1930s as it sought a middle way between individualist liberalism and communitarian socialism — and insisted that people had a spiritual dimension that materialistic liberalism supposedly failed to acknowledge. Maritain also insisted that Christians, while they should take into account religious precepts, had to act as citizens first. Acceptance of pluralism and tolerance were central to his vision and he forbade one-to-one translation of religion into political life. He was rather skeptical of exclusively Christian parties. Maritain participated in the drafting of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, and the Second Vatican Council eventually approved many of the ideas that he had been propounding since the 1930s. He also influenced the Christian Democratic parties that governed after 1945 in Germany, Italy, the Benelux countries and, to a lesser extent, France, and which consolidated not only democracy but also built strong welfare states in line with Catholic social doctrine. By the 1970s, the parties even began to stress that one didn’t have to be a believer to join. Maritain’s example disproves the claim that the analogy between Christian and Muslim democracy fails. It wasn’t the Vatican that took the lead in creating Christian democracy; it was innovative philosophers like Maritain (who never served in the Church hierarchy, though he was briefly French ambassador to the Vatican) and political entrepreneurs like Sturzo (a simple Sicilian priest). Of course, Muslim democracy will not be brought about by intellectuals alone. After all, Christian democracy’s success is also explained by its strongly anti-communist stance during the Cold War. Some of the philosophies used in the European Catholic transition to democracy — such as personalism — were rather nebulous, although it was probably their vagueness that helped to bring as many believers as possible on board. But the point remains that ideas matter. So the creation of a liberalized Islam by self-consciously moderate and democratic Muslim intellectuals is crucial. Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 15th, 2008 Please click on the links below for more information about these events.
October 15, 7 pm Harvard Bookstore at Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA Panelists: Mark Danner, Frances FitzGerald, Peter Galbraith, and Michael Tomasky. Event includes a live broadcast of the presidential debate and pizza provided by Cambridge 1. October 16, 7 pm Politics & Prose, Washington, DC Panelists: Elizabeth Drew, Jonathan Freedland, Peter Galbraith, Suzanne Goldenberg, and Michael Tomasky. October 25, 5 pm Harbourfront International Festival of Authors, Toronto Panelists: Richard Adams and Michael Tomasky. Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, CA Panelists: Martin Kettle, Thomas Powers, Frank Rich, Michael Tomasky, and Robert Silvers. October 28, 7:30 pm Panelists: Martin Kettle, Thomas Powers, Michael Tomasky, and Gary Younge. October 29, 7:30 pm Powell’s City of Books, Portland, OR Panelists: Thomas Powers, Michael Tomasky, and Gary Younge. October 30, 7:30 pm Elliott Bay Book Company at Town Hall, Seattle, WA Panelists: Martin Kettle, Thomas Powers, Jonathan Raban, and Michael Tomasky November 10, 7 pm What Happens Now? A Conversation on the 2008 Election |
