Over 730,000 Californians have signed a petition to put Proposition 7 on the ballot in California.
Prop. 7 requires that by 2025, 50% of the electricity in the state will come from renewable sources (ie. solar, wind, biothermal, etc.) which is a great start but why not 100%?
Join Californians for Solar and Clean Energy and Vote YES on 7 ... Visit yeson7.net
Read More »What do Exxon and Enron have in common? Algebraically ... xx = nr
This post is inspired by Americans for a Coal-Free VP! and Demands for the Candidates group, but I am linking it to the other groups that I have joined ... Anybody who feels motivated to make a difference is invited to visit 350 Alternatives to a Pro-Coal VP and make two phone calls that will have impact if a bunch of us do it, then post a blog or comment about the calls, and invite your friends to join the effort. Please visit 350 Alternatives to a Pro-Coal VP.
Here is my suggestion for a demand for clarification from Senators Obama and McCain: Phone their campaign offices and ask to speak with a staffer -- ask the staffer if the senator supports a COAL MORTORIUM until and unless it has operational CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION (CCS). Remind the staffer that CLEAN COAL is an OXYMORON at this point in time because CCS is not included in any of the pending plants' designs. We must make our voices loud and clear: COAL MUST BE LEFT IN THE GROUND until CCS is installed and actually operational.
Barack Obama has the most responsible energy plan of the two. Let's take a look.
The following is found on BarackObama.com on the page Barack Obama's Plan. [Actually the following was on the page July 21, but has since been updated and may be downloaded as a pdf ... but the update on coal is not any clearer today than it was two weeks ago. Read August 7 comment about the updated language. Edit added August 8]
Invest in a Clean Energy Future
- Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology: Obama will significantly increase the resources devoted to the commercialization and deployment of low-carbon coal technologies. Obama will consider whatever policy tools are necessary, including standards that ban new traditional coal facilities, to ensure that we move quickly to commercialize and deploy low carbon coal technology.
I think three phrases need to be clarified ... to me, in light of Al Gore's carbon-free electricity challenge, these sound like business as usual weasle words ... and they are used together in what appears to be a contradictory, imprecise and noncommital statement:
- "will consider whatever policy tools are necessary"
- "consider ... standards that ban new traditional coal facilities"
- "commercialize and deploy low carbon coal technology"
This does not sound like a commitment to "carbon-free electricity" to me ...
In order to make sure Obama understands our fundamental concerns that he buys in to Mr. Gore's challenge, we need to hold his feet to the fire and demand full disclosure of his true intentions. We must demand that he be clear ...
Let's be clear on this, these words are not clear. We demand clarity.
Barack -- and John!-- needs to state clearly that he is against any new coal-burning power plants that do not -- from day one -- use carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). That means a MORATORIUM ON COAL that is not carbon-free.
Le's all call Obama's and McCain's campaign headquarter and tell them clearly that state that we support a COAL MORATORIUM until and unless CCS if installed and operational. McCain won't but Obama will if enough of us speak up.
Tell them coal that is not "carbon-free" must remain in the ground if we hope to pass to our children and grandchildren a planet that is not irreversibly damaged by global warming. Obama and McCan (there is no hope for McCain) need to let us know that they understand this imperative. Read more about this at 350 Alternatives to a Pro-Coal VP. Read the group description and the blog Join us!
Currently, each electricity provider has different procedures, requirements and pay rates.
We must begin to treat the Electricity grid as a national system. There must be a standard across the nation for interconnection as well as a National Electricity Backbone, that will connect the rural low electricity demand areas with their large and renewable resources in our countryside with our high electricity demand urban centers on the coasts.
Today, sadly, she'll awaken indoors.
At 1:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, frantic staff member from the Bar 717 Camp in northern California's Trinity Alps called us to say there would be no bus ride to camp later that morning. A string of dry thunderstorms had sparked scores of fires in the previous 24 hours. The local Sheriff was now advising against bringing kids into camp. With one of the nearby fires now at 4,000 acres and growing, the two week camp session won't start until at least four days have passed, if then. It's possible that the full two-week session will not occur. There is even a chance that the camp itself will be lost.
Forest fires are an important part of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest ecosystem. And a forest fire in California is certainly no surprise. But here we are, still in June, and the number of fires that have already occurred in California is staggering. This is long before the familiar autumn fires cloud the Sierra and coastal ranges. We're seeing the kind of extreme weather that climate scientists have predicted under a warmer global climate. We're seeing the predictions come true -- but sooner than many thought. Intense rainstorms and flooding in the Midwest. Tornadoes in the mid-Atlantic region. And prolonged drought throughout the West. The term "dry thunderstorm" has never been a part of California vernacular - but here we are.
Those of us who focus on climate solutions for our living often try to recall our motives for activism. It's a way of staying focused. It's a way of staying hopeful, particularly in light of increasingly dire predictions. Today, I can't stop thinking of a young woman about to embark on a great journey - that first big trip away from her parents. I can't stop thinking of how the harshness of a new climate intervened. And that is the motivation I need right now. I know we humans have changed the weather. (And how is that for hubris?) I also know we can take action now to stop things from getting worse. We need to act. Now.
My daughter will find ways to break free of her mother and me. And she'll continue to find ways to experience joy in nature. I'll try to honor her courage and spirit by building support for climate solutions. Today.
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