Climate 411

This post is by Tony Kreindler, media director for the National Climate Campaign at Environmental Defense Fund.

The main reason to pass climate legislation as soon as possible is that the fate of the world is at stake. We’re in a race against time to stop global warming, or face irreversible climate catastrophe.

But there’s also another race – the race to develop the clean energy technologies that will power our future. The world is at the dawn of a technological revolution, and we need the economic incentive of climate legislation to fully participate.

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This post is by Robert Bonnie, Co-Director of the Land, Water and Wildlife Program at Environmental Defense Fund.

The New York Times recently reported that thousands of farmers are dropping out of the federal government’s Conservation Reserve Program. The prices for corn and other crops are so high that conservation subsidies can’t compete with what farmers can make by planting the land. One reason for the high prices is the ethanol mandate in the energy bill Congress passed last year.

Shifts in land use from diverting food-producing land to grow crops for energy – called "indirect land-use change" – can potentially negate the environmental benefits of corn ethanol. There is still much debate on how to measure it, but no question it’s important to consider. One recent study published in Science (Searchinger et. al.) found that using croplands for biofuels causes a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions relative to gasoline when indirect land use change is taken into account.

Unintended consequences such as these highlight the danger of mandating a specific clean energy technology, and the importance of relying on performance standards instead.

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an online writer and editorial manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp has a compelling Op-Ed piece in today’s Wall Street Journal. He says that, “Solving global warming will be an added cost, yes – but a bargain compared with the economic cost of unchecked climate change.” The winners of the race to reinvent energy stand to make megafortunes. Here’s some of what’s in the works:

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

Last week I wrote about the TreeHugger interview with EDF President Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn about their new book. Earth: The Sequel is an engaging look at emerging technology in the fight to stop global warming.

Fred has been getting around quite a bit lately. This week he also was interviewed by Forbes, Newsweek, and Mercury News. Each had a slightly different focus. Here are some excerpts:

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at the Environmental Defense Fund.

In yesterday’s post, Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp wrote about his new book with Miriam Horn, Earth: The Sequel.

The popular environmental blog Treehugger just published an interview with them about the book and their experiences writing it. They discuss emerging clean energy technology, and give interesting anecdotes about people they met along the way. Here are some excerpts:

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This post is by Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Earth: The Sequel tells the story of an exciting race that is just beginning – the race to develop low-carbon energy in time to turn our greatest environmental crisis into our greatest economic opportunity.

Many people have expressed surprise that I’d write a book like this about a problem so serious. And global warming is serious. With each passing year, scientists get more and more alarmed at the increase and extent of disturbing impacts. But this book is not about the doom and gloom of global warming. In fact, it’s just the opposite.

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