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Stanford’s Jon Krosnick discusses Americans’ perception of climate change, policy (Video)
Monica Trauzzi, E&E TV
A recent Washington Post/ABC News/Stanford University poll shows the number of Americans concerned about climate change is on the rise, and a large number of Americans would support the government taking steps to encourage businesses to be more efficient.
During today’s OnPoint, Stanford University professor Jon Krosnick discusses the study and its implications. Krosnick explains why most Americans believe there is disagreement among scientists about global warming. He also discusses how Americans’ perception of climate change should play into the 2008 presidential election.
(9 May 2007)
31 states target global warming
Janet Wilson, LA Times
They form a climate registry that will measure and track greenhouse gas emissions by industry.
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Led by California, 31 states representing more than 70% of the U.S. population announced Tuesday that they would measure and jointly track greenhouse gas emissions by major industries.
The newly formed Climate Registry is the latest example of states going further than the federal government in taking steps to combat global warming. State officials, along with some industrial groups and environmentalists, say the registry is a crucial precursor to both mandatory and market-based regulation of industrial gases that contribute to warming.
All agree that the most important part of the new registry is subjecting emissions statistics to third-party verification – unlike a Bush administration program that does not require verification.
“You have to be able to count carbon pollution in order to cut carbon pollution,” said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“The registry gives business and policymakers an essential accounting tool for tracking the success of the many emerging global warming emission reduction initiatives that are blossoming across the country.”
The registry participants range from states that are moving aggressively to impose mandatory greenhouse gas reduction policies to others that are just beginning to examine whether to take even voluntary steps.
(9 May 2007)
Clean Power That Reaps a Whirlwind
Keith Bradsher, NY Times
The wind turbines rising 180 feet above this dusty village at the hilly edge of Inner Mongolia could be an environmentalist’s dream: their electricity is clean, sparing the horizon sooty clouds or global warming gases.
But the wind-power generators are also part of a growing dispute over a United Nations program that is the centerpiece of international efforts to help developing countries combat global warming.
That program, the Clean Development Mechanism, has become a kind of Robin Hood, raising billions of dollars from rich countries and transferring them to poor countries to curb the emission of global warming gases. The biggest beneficiary is no longer so poor: China, with $1.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, received three-fifths of the money last year. And as a result, some of the poorest countries are being left out.
(9 May 2007)
Outdoor and sports companies warming to ‘carbon neutrality’
Gail Kinsey Hill, Portland Oregonian
Sports roof-rack king Yakima vows to rid itself of all carbon dioxide emissions before the leaves fall.
Outdoor gear giant REI has declared Jan. 1, 2020, the day it will become what it calls “carbon neutral.”
Sneaker czar Nike and up-and-comer KEEN Footwear haven’t set a date yet, but each claims a rock-hard commitment to airshed atonement.
More and more outdoor companies are taking up the fight against carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas tied to global warming and a host of wrenching environmental consequences. They’re eagerly ringing up expenses, convinced they can cut long-term energy costs, create a stronger brand and broaden consumer love while doing right by the environment.
“It’s not entirely commercial self-promotion, and it’s not entirely intrinsic corporate virtue,” said Angus Duncan, president of the nonprofit Bonneville Environmental Foundation, which promotes clean energy development. “It’s a mix of two.”
Businesses with a bead on CO2 emissions aren’t actually eliminating the workplace pollutant. Instead, they’re buying “carbon offsets,” or credits, which represent investments in planet-friendly projects such as wind-farms, energy efficiency technologies and reforestation.
(9 May 2007)
