Devil in the Details: Three Profoundly Disturbing Carbon Scenarios

• The general outlook of the scenarios has been termed “profoundly disturbing” by one participant, climate researcher and author Mark Lynas.

• All three of the report’s scenarios define “success” as a greater than 90% chance of less than 2ºC (3.6ºF) warming above pre-industrial levels, which is the most commonly accepted scientific threshold for successful mitigation of adverse effects of climate change,

• In the words of the authors, “the horse has bolted, but there is still scope to contain the greatest extent of damage [from climate change] through innovative and efficient policy.”

excerpts from Green Car Congress: Devil in the Details: Three Profoundly Disturbing Carbon Scenarios

Siemens to open Colo. wind turbine R&D center | Planetary Gear: a CNET blog on mechanical engineering technology - CNET News.com

The energy sector of the German company made the announcement on Tuesday in Houston, Texas, at Windpower 2008, the American Wind Energy Association's annual conference.

Siemens to open Colo. wind turbine R&D center | Planetary Gear: a CNET blog on mechanical engineering technology - CNET News.com

As part of the plan, Siemens Energy will collaborate with the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) to install a Siemens 2.3-megawatt (MW) wind turbine at the National Wind Technology Center located just outside of Boulder.

With the announcement timed for just before the last of the presidential primaries, this marks a significant development for wind energy in the US. Germany is the global leader in wind energy development, in my opinion, the location at NREL signals a new era of international cooperation in alternative technologies and a pull back in mindless dedication to industrial era energy production technologies that has been the norm for the current administration.

Under the "you never know" or is is "wishful thinking" department, because of the misguided policies that have lead to a deterioration of USD value against the Euro it will be more profitable to build the wind turbines in the US to meet the demand in Europe. The added market thus enhancing the pace of change in the US.

Wind brings 150 news jobs | argusleader.com | Argus Leader

Broadwind CEO J. Cameron Drecoll said transportation and logistics for tower sections have become increasingly complex and costly to the wind energy marketplace. Broadwind and Tower Tech will provide tower production capabilities close to major wind energy development areas and supply logistical services to project sites. He added that the service will reduce risks associated with long-distance transport.

Read the story in the Sioux Falls Argus LeaderWind brings 150 news jobs

CLIMATE CHANGE: A Game With Too Many Free Riders

By Stephen Leahy*

BROOKLIN, Canada, Apr 4 (IPS) - The evidence is piling up that climate change threatens to bring a chaotic future unlike anything ever known. Taking collective action in time to avert the worst means rewarding climate-safe behaviour, punishing climate transgressors and publicly praising those who are trying to protect the environment, a new study suggests.

The nations of the world will come together to set a target and timeframe for reducing emissions from burning fossil fuels at the end of 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Scientists have repeatedly stated the 2020 target must be 25 to 40 percent emission reductions from the 1990 emission baseline. Can the global community reach this collective target through individual efforts when everyone suffers individually if the target is missed?

The short answer: No.

CLIMATE CHANGE: A Game With Too Many Free Riders

This is the last in a four part series:

Part One - CLIMATE CHANGE: The Future Is Now
Part Two - CLIMATE CHANGE: The Fault Lies Not in Our Cars but in Ourselves
Part Three - CLIMATE CHANGE: A Vision Worth Fighting For

Biotech groups desert international agriculture project | Environment | guardian.co.uk

"The draft report says there is a 'wide range of perspectives on the environmental, human health and economic risks and benefits of modern biotechnology, many of which are as yet unknown'. It says it is not clear whether GM crops increase yields and warns that use of the technology in the developing world could concentrate 'ownership of agricultural resources' in the hands of the companies involved, as well as causing problems with patents." Read more at Biotech groups desert international agriculture project | Environment | guardian.co.uk:

Rotten to the Core

For sale: West’s deadly nuclear secrets - Times Online: "The Turks and Israelis had planted “moles” in military and academic institutions which handled nuclear technology. Edmonds says there were several transactions of nuclear material every month, with the Pakistanis being among the eventual buyers. “The network appeared to be obtaining information from every nuclear agency in the United States,” she said."

A New Economic Engine: Energy in the 21st Century

Excellent overview that outlines the approach that American needs to address future energy needs and be part of the global warming solution not the problem. Pricing CO2 emissions to account for the risk of not changing is absolutely vital to the success.

Cap and Trade is really a band aid way to do it according to leading economists. Replacing income taxes with carbon emissions tax ultimately will have to be done one way or another as income taxes provide the wrong kind of incentives and modifying the code to provide incentives only tends to reward the status quo high carbon emission economy instead of building a new low carbon economy.

Read more about progressive growth at the

Center for American Progress

Join Live Earth

Climate change: "Carbon footprint" enters everyday vocabulary - Yahoo! News

Climate change: "Carbon footprint" enters everyday vocabulary - Yahoo! News: "Individuals keen on reducing their 'carbon footprint' -- the dangerous greenhouse gas that each of us emit through our purchases and activities -- can now turn to a multiplying panoply of tools to calculate their pollution, reduce it or compensate for it. 'Our daily habits are responsible for 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions,' says France's Agency for the Environment and Control of Energy (ADEME)."

Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) Homepage

Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC): "The DESERTEC Concept of TREC is to boost the generation of electricity and desalinated water by solar thermal power plants and wind turbines in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and to transmit the clean electrical power via High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission lines throughout those areas and as from 2020 (with overall just 10-15% transmission losses) to Europe."

Solution are everywhere it is the criminals that hold the trump cards that are the problem.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Rudd sets new Australian agenda

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Rudd sets new Australian agenda: "Mr Rudd said he would overturn a number of his predecessor's policies, signing the Kyoto Protocol and withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq.

He also promised to attend next month's UN climate change summit in Bali."

Comment is free: Learn to swim

Comment is free: Learn to swim:

"The adaptation argument has become the retreat position in recent months for climate change sceptics who now find climate data and evidence from the poles mounting against them. No longer able to argue that there's no need to act because the climate isn't changing, they now argue against action because it's too expensive, requires too much government leadership (they say intervention) ... but he ignores the fact that climate change could destroy more demand-and-supply chains around the world than new government policies ever could."

AlterNet: Biofuels Could Kill More People Than the Iraq War - Topix

AlterNet: Biofuels Could Kill More People Than the Iraq War - Topix: "If the governments promoting biofuels do not reverse their policies, the humanitarian impact will be greater than that of the Iraq war."

Deep Economy by Bill McKibben

Book Review:Book Review: Deep Economy by Bill McKibben on the Guerrilla News Network


I just finished the book and it was much above expectations. I think every college economics course should require it as a companion to whatever standard text is used. The information contained is too important to be left to experts, such is the essence of a liberal education! It is the kind of alternate view that students, and this includes all citizens of a responsible world, need to make critical choices about the future of the world in which they will live.

It is required reading in my opinion.