Obama beaten back for now on climate!

Climate Control News reported today that,

While [federal] budget rules in theory allow lawmakers to revisit a preferred fast-track strategy for climate legislation later this year, White House aides are now acknowledging the political downsides of such a strategy and suggesting a cap-and-trade bill may have to be considered under more conventional legislative procedures.

As reported here on March 17, eight Democratic Senators told President Obama that they wouldn’t support his sneaky effort to fast-track climate legislation through the federal budget process.

Take action:

Grab local/state/federal politicians by their lapels and shake them until they vow to oppose global warming legislation with all their might.

Newsweek: ‘We can’t get there from here’

A March 14 Newsweek article by Sharon Begley explains why we can’t get to renewable energy-CO2 nirvana from where we are today:

… The world used 14 trillion watts (14 terawatts) of power in 2006. Assuming minimal population growth (to 9 billion people), slow economic growth (1.6 percent a year, practically recession level) and—this is key—unprecedented energy efficiency (improvements of 500 percent relative to current U.S. levels, worldwide), it will use 28 terawatts in 2050. (In a business-as-usual scenario, we would need 45 terawatts.) Simple physics shows that in order to keep CO2 to 450 ppm, 26.5 of those terawatts must be zero-carbon. That’s a lot of solar, wind, hydro, biofuels and nuclear, especially since renewables kicked in a measly 0.2 terawatts in 2006 and nuclear provided 0.9 terawatts. Are you a fan of nuclear? To get 10 terawatts, less than half of what we’ll need in 2050, Lewis calculates, we’d have to build 10,000 reactors, or one every other day starting now. Do you like wind? If you use every single breeze that blows on land, you’ll get 10 or 15 terawatts. Since it’s impossible to capture all the wind, a more realistic number is 3 terawatts, or 1 million state-of-the art turbines, and even that requires storing the energy—something we don’t know how to do—for when the wind doesn’t blow. Solar? To get 10 terawatts by 2050, Lewis calculates, we’d need to cover 1 million roofs with panels every day from now until then. “It would take an army,” he says. Obama promised green jobs, but still.

Here’s more from the article:

If Mr. Obama is only counting wind power and solar power as renewables, then his promise is clearly doable. But the unfortunate truth is that even if he matches Mr. Bush’s effort by doubling wind and solar output by 2012, the contribution of those two sources to America’s overall energy needs will still be almost inconsequential.

Here’s why. The latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that total solar and wind output for 2008 will likely be about 45,493,000 megawatt-hours. That sounds significant until you consider this number: 4,118,198,000 megawatt-hours. That’s the total amount of electricity generated during the rolling 12-month period that ended last November. Solar and wind, in other words, produce about 1.1% of America’s total electricity consumption.

Of course, you might respond that renewables need to start somewhere. True enough — and to be clear, I’m not opposed to renewables. I have solar panels on the roof of my house here in Texas that generate 3,200 watts. And those panels (which were heavily subsidized by Austin Energy, the city-owned utility) provide about one-third of the electricity my family of five consumes. Better still, solar panel producers like First Solar Inc. are lowering the cost of solar cells. On the day of Mr. Obama’s speech, the company announced that it is now producing solar cells for $0.98 per watt, thereby breaking the important $1-per-watt price barrier.

And yet, while price reductions are important, the wind is intermittent, and so are sunny days. That means they cannot provide the baseload power, i.e., the amount of electricity required to meet minimum demand, that Americans want.

That issue aside, the scale problem persists. For the sake of convenience, let’s convert the energy produced by U.S. wind and solar installations into oil equivalents.

The conversion of electricity into oil terms is straightforward: one barrel of oil contains the energy equivalent of 1.64 megawatt-hours of electricity. Thus, 45,493,000 megawatt-hours divided by 1.64 megawatt-hours per barrel of oil equals 27.7 million barrels of oil equivalent from solar and wind for all of 2008.

Now divide that 27.7 million barrels by 365 days and you find that solar and wind sources are providing the equivalent of 76,000 barrels of oil per day. America’s total primary energy use is about 47.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Of that 47.4 million barrels of oil equivalent, oil itself has the biggest share — we consume about 19 million barrels per day. Natural gas is the second-biggest contributor, supplying the equivalent of 11.9 million barrels of oil, while coal provides the equivalent of 11.5 million barrels of oil per day. The balance comes from nuclear power (about 3.8 million barrels per day), and hydropower (about 1.1 million barrels), with smaller contributions coming from wind, solar, geothermal, wood waste, and other sources.

Here’s another way to consider the 76,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day that come from solar and wind: It’s approximately equal to the raw energy output of one average-sized coal mine.

For Nickelodeon, no green gesture too trivial

The Associated Press reported today that,

Nickelodeon will ask kids to unplug their games and gadgets for a minute on Earth Day to symbolize a commitment to helping the environment.

The unplugged minute will come at nine o’clock in the evening on April 22, when many of Nick’s viewers should arguably be in bed. It doesn’t extend to television sets, but is largely targeted at household lights, hand-held games and cell phones…

Do something really nice for a kid on Earth Day, buy him/her a copy of Steve Milloy’s new book Green Hell: How Environmentalists Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them.

Plastic bag ban ‘will kill more trees’

Stefanie Wang of St. Mary’s College of California opined March 24 on the Palo Alto, CA ban on plastic bags:

Palo Alto recently banned single use plastic shopping bags in supermarkets. What seems like a green, environment-conscious move may prove more troublesome than officials originally thought. In fact, it is much worse than their current situation. City officials hoped that townspeople would bring their own recyclable bags instead of opting for paper bags post-ban. They did not count on being sued for this decision.

According to recent reports on the ban, the attorney for the Save the Plastic Bag group, Stephen Joseph said the group is considering suing the city of Palo Alto for the ban. In addition to the possibility of a financial and legal mess, city officials overlooked the fact that paper bags are harmful to the environment as well. So not only are officials overlooking the impact paper bags have on the environment, they are also overlooking what repercussions will ensue among the plastic bag industries and people who actually understand the scientific studies done on disposable bags.

Plastic bags require less energy and materials to manufacture as they are made from oil and natural gas. Their production impacts the environment less than paper bags production…

… the ban could be as disastrous as the one San Francisco implemented in 2007. San Francisco is the only city in the U.S. to ban plastic bags. No other cities follow suit because it is a bad idea. Plastic bag litter did not decrease. It actually increased after the ban went into effect according to the San Francisco’s “Street Litter Audit.”

Spy plane finds homes ‘wasting’ energy

The Daily Mail (UK) reported today that,

Our movements are already tracked by CCTV, speed cameras and even spies in dustbins.

Now snooping on the public has reached new heights with local authorities putting spy planes in the air to snoop on homeowners who are wasting too much energy.

Thermal imaging cameras are being used to create colour-coded maps which will enable council officers to identify offenders and pay them a visit to educate them about the harm to the environment and measures they can take…

It said the exercise has been so successful other local authorities are planning to follow suit.

But critics have warned the crackdown was another example of local authorities extending their charter to poke their noses into every aspect of people’s lives…

Seattle to vote on plastic bag fees

SeattlePI.com reports that Seattle residents will vote in August on whether to impose on themselves a 20-cent surcharge for plastic shopping bags.

Does a surcharge make sense?

Here’s what a GreenHellBlog commenter had to say:

In point of fact, the plastic bags are made from waste gases that would be burned off on the waste stack (that big flaming torch you see at refineries). Instead, it is sequestered in the bags and put back in the Earth where it came from. If you actually believe in the Great Carbon Swindle then the plastic bags are your Earth Mother-God’s savior. The rest of us just enjoy their convenience. I recycle them as waste basket liners before trashing them, finally.

A manager at a plastic bag company said,

Plastic bags will degrade in about 1.5 years in a litter situation… For some reason, and I do not understand why, irresponsible environmental groups are trying to rid the use of plastic bags. Responsible use and recycling is the answer. Period. Plastic bags use less energy to produce and transport, they are 100 percent recyclable, there is virtually no pollution involved with there manufacturing, and they create thousands of well-paying U.S. jobs.

Take action:

Seattle residents should vote ‘no’ on the plastic bag surcharge.

‘Humans!’ The anti-people green video

The greens hate people. Check out this video. Behind its terrific animation, however, is the ugly truth about how the greens view about mankind. Here’s the producer’s description of the video:

Humans! is a 60 second global awareness PSA sensationalizing the excessive, all-consuming nature of the human being. This cute and naive Earth stands no chance against such an insatiable parasite. Witness its utter demise in a fun and sickening kind of way.

Obama picks green to wave white flag

President Obama has selected former World Resources Institute climate activist Jonathan Pershing to surrender our standard of living, national dignity and sovereignty at the upcoming United Nations climate treaty meeting in Copenhagen in December.

Here’s the U.S. State Department announcement.

Here’s the WRI statement.

Here’s a WRI interview with Pershing.

Was Al Gore too busy to sell out America in Copenhagen?

Greens plan for April-recess lobbying

The green group 1Sky.org is planning for a massive grassroots lobbying effort during the two-week congressional recess in April.

Click here for the 1Sky.org target list of congressman.

Take action:

Use the 1Sky list to lobby these members for yourself. Tell them that global warming legislation will:

  • Raise energy costs;
  • Reduce our standard of living; and
  • Rob us of our individual liberties.

A vote for the greens is a vote against you and America.

GreenieMae? Dems propose Green Bank

Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen introduced on March 24 the Green Bank Act of 2009 — the latest green scheme to rob taxpayers and funnel money to renewable energy scams.

As proposed by Van Hollen, the Green Bank Act of 2009 would:

  • Create the Green Bank as an independent, tax-exempt, wholly owned corporation of the United States with the exclusive mission of providing a comprehensive range of financing support to qualified clean energy and energy efficiency projects within the territorial United States.
  • Provide the Green Bank with an initial capitalization of $10 billion through the issuance of Green Bonds by the Department of Treasury, with a maximum authorized limit of $50 billion in Green Bonds outstanding at any one time.
  • Assist in advancing vital national objectives — including transitioning to a clean energy economy, job creation through the construction and operation of clean energy and energy efficiency projects, abating climate change, energy independence from foreign sources, and fostering long-term domestic manufacturing capacity in clean energy and energy efficiency technologies.
  • Include robust spending safeguards and public disclosure requirements to ensure that the Green Bank operates at the highest levels of efficacy, accountability and transparency.

Original co-sponsors of the Green Bank Act of 2009 include Congressman David Loebsack (D-IA), Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU).

A couple quick thoughts:

  • Don’t taxpayers already provide ample welfare to the renewable energy industry through provisions like tax credits and Obama’s Stimulus plan?
  • Has Van Hollen ever heard of the financial disasters that are FannieMae and FreddieMac?

Take action:

Contact the bill’s sponsors.

Greens to Pepsi: Not less plastic, no plastic

The Wall Street Journal reported today that,

PepsiCo Inc. is reducing the amount of plastic it uses to package its bottled water in the U.S., the latest step by a beverage company to portray itself as environmentally conscious as sales of bottled water slip.

What was the response from the greens?

Gigi Kellett, national director of a “Think Outside the Bottle Campaign” for Corporate Accountability International, an organization that urges consumers to drink tap water, said a lighter bottle is welcome. But she said she’s concerned about “putting a green veneer on a plastic bottle.”

“Bottled water is costly for the environment, our pocketbooks and our public water systems,” Ms. Kellett said.

Two points:

  1. Corporate America has yet to learn that it will never make the greens happy. It will never be “green” enough as the greens keep moving the goalposts.
  2. The greens won’t stop with bottled water — they’re coming after other bottled beverages as well. Soft drinks, after all, are just flavored bottled water.

Steve Milloy’s new book Green Hell: How Environmentalists Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them spotlights how the greens are using capitalists to destroy capitalism.