Climate 411

Emergency Funding for Public Transit Crisis

By Michael Replogle / Published: July 23, 2008

Michael ReplogleThis post is by Michael Replogle, Transportation Director at Environmental Defense Fund.

Today, the New York City MTA proposed another fare and toll hike to manage a projected $900 million deficit next year. To avoid service cuts, according to WNYC, MTA head Lee Sander is "going begging everywhere, to Governor Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg, the federal government, and riders."

But in many other cities across the country, service cuts due to budget shortfalls are unavoidable. Ironically, communities are cutting services just when use of public transit is at a 50-year high due to skyrocketing gasoline prices (see map).

To avoid cutting these crucially important services, public transit systems urgently need federal help.

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Posted in News / Read 3 Responses

EPA Reports on Danger of Greenhouse Gases

By John Balbus / Published: July 22, 2008

John BalbusThis post is by John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Health Scientist at Environmental Defense Fund.

Despite EPA’s refusal to formally acknowledge the danger of greenhouse gases in its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR), two recently released EPA reports detail the health dangers of greenhouse gases.

The first, a support document for the ANPR [PDF], summarizes the extensive body of science showing that global warming pollution presents a serious threat to human health and the environment. The document is labeled "draft" and stamped "do not circulate or cite", but is listed on the EPA Web site as one of the supporting documents for the released ANPR. From the Executive Summary:

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Posted in Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health / Comments are closed

Wind Power Gets a $5 Billion Boost in Texas

By Sheryl Canter / Published: July 21, 2008

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

Billionaire Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens is pushing hard for the development of wind power. He says that we can get 20 percent of our electricity from wind within 10 years if we put our minds to it, and is planning a large wind farm in Pampa TX.

And that’s not the only Texas wind project in the works.

On Thursday, Texas regulators approved a $5 billion project to build transmission lines for carrying wind power. The new lines will bring power into urban areas, easing a serious bottleneck. The decision will give Texas more wind capacity than the next 14 states combined.

Posted in Energy / Read 2 Responses

Reactions to Gore’s Speech on Energy

By Sheryl Canter / Published: July 18, 2008

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

Yesterday, Former Vice President Al Gore gave a speech in Washington, D.C. that called for the U.S. to produce all electricity from carbon-free sources by 2018.

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You can read the full transcript on WeCanSolveIt.org.

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Posted in Energy / Comments are closed

Stephen Colbert Clip: Priceless

By Sheryl Canter / Published: July 18, 2008

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

Check out Stephen Colbert on the EPA’s decision to delay regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. It’s hilarious.

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Posted in Cars and Pollution, Greenhouse Gas Emissions / Read 1 Response

New Jobs from Clean Energy Can Revitalize the Economy

By Jackie Roberts / Published: July 17, 2008

Jackie RobertsThis post is by Jackie Roberts, director of sustainable technologies at Environmental Defense Fund.

In the midst of reports of six straight months of U.S. job losses, there were two reports on a more hopeful note:

The Worldwatch Institute finding that green economy jobs were increasing as other jobs declined was part of their Vital Signs Update. From Senior Researcher Michael Renner:

Renewables are poised to tackle our energy crisis and create millions of new jobs worldwide.

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Posted in Economics / Read 1 Response