****Nations to Write Treaty Cutting Mercury Emissions

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/20/AR2009022003378.html

WP: More than 140 countries have agreed to negotiate a legally binding treaty aimed at slashing the use of the metal mercury, with the goal of reducing people's exposure to a toxin that hampers brain development among infants and young children worldwide.The agreement, announced at a high-level United Nations meeting of environmental ministers in Nairobi yesterday came after Obama administration officials reversed U.S. policy and embraced the idea of joining in a binding pact. Once the administration said it was reversing the course set by President George W. Bush, China, India and other nations also agreed to endorse the goal of a mandatory treaty.

****Winning the Oil Endgame without Government Coercion

FOR VIDEO: http://www.amarketplaceofideas.com/winning-the-oil-endgame-without-government-coercion.htm
TED/AMORY LOVINS/RMI:  In this energizing talk, Amory Lovins lays out his simple plan for weaning the US off oil and revitalizing the economy. Amory Lovins is cofounder of the Rocky Mountain Institute and the instigator of ingenious ideas to transform the ... A MarketPlace of Ideas - http://www.amarketplaceofideas.com/

Why the Government Should Not Be A Green Vent Capital outfit

http://earth2tech.com/2009/02/20/why-the-government-should-not-be-a-green-vc/
Earth2Tech: Six reasons why the federal government should not create a green VC fund, including: there is no lack of venture capital funding, good startups are still being funded by VCs, VCs don't need a bailout, excessive funding hurts markets, and a government VC fund likely would end up backing the end-of-the-road less qualified companies. Gurley's post is in response to a poor idea that (NYT) Thomas Friedman (bestseller Hot, Flat & Crowded) noted in one of his recent New York Times op-eds:

**Attny Gen'l attacks MI Gov anti-Coal Plant order

http://www.freep.com/article/20090221/NEWS06/902210343
FREEP: MI Attorney General Mike Cox accused Gov. Jennifer Granholmon Friday of exceeding her authority by ordering state agencies to suspend the licensing process for coal-fired utility plants. Responding to an opinion from state Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer,R-Kewadin, Cox said Granholm's order, which she announced in her State of the State address on Feb. 3, would impose a new requirement not found in environmental protection statutes or elsewhere.

**A Renewable Portfolio Standard [legal benchmarks]?

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/next-up-a-renewable-portfolio-standard/
NYT: President Obama has called for 10 percent of the nation's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025. A national standard could enshrine those goals into law, and Senator Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is working on a draft (he held a hearing last week).

"The Obama Effect" On The Environment & Energy

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100928065&ft=1&f=1025
NPR: Much of President Obama's policy revolves around the three E's: environment, energy and the economy. By and large, the American economy is not a sustainable economy. It is based on an economic model that depends on consumption and the desire for more stuff.

Reid, Pelosi pushing [uphill] for climate change by Memorial Day

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jJGH92I1bBxSYUuuJxTDWEhJyxrwD96FI8AO0
AP:  Democratic leaders in both the Senate and House want to take action this year to stem global warming....But the biggest battle will be in the Senate, where Reid will have to get 60 votes including support from some Republicans. Last year a proposed climate bill garnered only 48 (Senate) votes, though six senators who said they supported it were absent.

***Worsening Climate Numbers NYT

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/opinion/21sat3.html?ref=opinion
NYT: The 2007 assessment established a base line of expectation, but it is already looking outdated. From all over the globe, in bits and pieces, data are accumulating that suggest we may have already left behind the world of possibilities portrayed in the panel's report. Sea ice has melted more quickly than expected. And, according to a recent report from the United States Geological Survey, sea levels in 2100 could increase by more than double the 1.5 feet rise projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (it chose not to add in water from eroding ice sheets because they remain poorly understood). Add to that the hard reality that carbon dioxide is a long-lived gas, and the picture of global warming is both volatile and forbidding.

Controversial Duo: Nuclear Pod & Canadian Tar Sands!

http://earth2tech.com/2009/02/20/controversial-duo-nuclear-pod-canadian-tar-sands/
Don't feel so comfortable with a hot-tub sized nuclear power generator buried under your feet? Perhaps those that mine and process Canada's tar sands deposits will feel differently — at least that's the hope of Hyperion, a startup developing a modular nuclear device. Hyperion floated the idea this morning: Hey, why not use Hyperion Power Modules to clean up the power used to produce oil from the tar sands?

**National Geographic on Canada Tar Sands

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/03/canadian-oil-sands/kunzig-text
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: Nowhere on Earth is more earth being moved these days than in the Athabasca Valley. To extract each barrel of oil from a surface mine, the industry must first cut down the forest, then remove an average of two tons of peat and dirt that lie above the oil sands layer, then two tons of the sand itself. It must heat several barrels of water to strip the bitumen from the sand and upgrade it, and afterward it discharges contaminated water into tailings ponds like the one near Mildred Lake. They now cover around 50 square miles.

Obama On Tar Sands

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-chameides/obama-on-tar-sands---or-s_b_168587.html
HUFF POST: Carol Browner, the assistant to the president for Energy and Climate Change, was accompanying the president on his trip to Canada, my hunch was that global warming would be on the agenda. Obama links tar sands to coal.

*Canada's Green Stimulus

http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=09-P13-00008&segmentID=5

LIVING ON THE EARTH: Canada has its own money problems, and a 27 billion dollar stimulus package that includes a green lining for the nation's economic cloud.To find out how green we turned to Michael Moore. He's a senior fellow at the Institute of Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy at the University of Calgary.MOORE: The most significant piece of the package is a billion and a half dollars for clean air and climate change initiatives and about four billion dollars spread over two years for so-called infrastructure stimulus, which we hope will include new transmission facilities.

Goodman, Stewart, Maddow, Colbert, Olberman

The contribution to this country and to the world by Amy Goodman, Jon Stewart, Rachel Maddow, Colbert and Olberman is profound.

IMHO:

* They must be relentlessly watched, studied, learned from, followed, and gone beyond!
* We owe them a HUGE debt of gratitude, AND SUPPORT..
* We owe it to humanity to learn from them, to spread the word.
* We owe it t0 ourselves to live with the wisdom and She/He/roism they embody.

Huge, Huge Patriots.

In China, Clinton Focuses on Climate Change

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/world/asia/22diplo.html?hp
NYT: Declaring "we hope you won't make the same mistakes we made," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton invited China to join the United States in an ambitious effort to curb greenhouse gases, as she toured an energy-efficient power plant in Beijing on Saturday. "When we were industrializing and growing, we didn't know any better; neither did Europe," Mrs. Clinton said. "Now we're smart enough to figure out how to have the right kind of growth."

*** Wake Up Call: Activists Visit 'The Army Experience'

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/19-2

On Monday, February 16th about 50 activists decided to take a trip to the Franklin Mills Mall right outside Philadelphia, PA to get their look at a new "store". "The Army Experience" (AEC), as it is called, built by the taxpayers to the tune of $12 million, attracts local kids to play video games, most of which are high tech simulations of combat situations.

The group was made up of members from all over the area. World Can't Wait from New York City and Philadelphia; Delaware Valley Veterans of America; Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW); Veterans for Peace from the Philadelphia area; CodePink Women for Peace; Granny Peace Brigade; and, the Brandywine Peace Center converged on the mall at about 10:30 AM, greeted by a heavier than usual security force.

*** "National Clean Energy Project" forum to be held Monday, Feb 23, in Washington, D.C.

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-20-2009/0004976149&EDATE=
PRNEWSWIRE: The highly select group of participants include former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Jeff Bingaman, oil executive T. Boone Pickens and environmentalist Robert Kennedy, Jr.

*** Obama nixes plan to tax motorists on mileage

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090221/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/lahood_vehicle_mileage_tax
AP: President Barack Obama on Friday rejected his transportation secretary's suggestion that the administration consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive instead of how much gasoline they buy. "It is not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters

Car Companies "Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic?"

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/anya-kamenetz/green-day/car-companies-rearranging-deck-chairs-titanic
FAST COMPANY: Pasadena's Art Center College of Design is in the middle of a three-day summit on sustainable mobility and the future of the automotive industry, bringing designers together with political leaders like Rep. Edward Markey and LA's mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and green luminaries like Amory Lovins.

After a panel discussion, Nesbitt, along with representatives of Toyota and hybrid startup Bright Automotive, were asked a very rude question.

"Are you guys rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?"

Bill Reinert of Toyota Motors bristled at the charge. "I don't think that any of the three of us up here see business as usual. We might see things going in different directions than you do, but we don't see business as usual. The fact that we talk about how difficult it is to bring this stuff to market and to educate the consumer doesn't mean we think it shouldn't be done."

**** Study predicts oil demand will peak well before supplies run out

http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2236875/study-warns-oil-demand-peak
BUSINESSGREEN: Experts argue oil industry should be worried about a very different type of "peak oil" - peak demand.Management consultancy Arthur D Little has turned peak oil fears on their head with a report suggesting that the global economy will have begun to abandon oil well before supplies peak.The Beginning of the End for Oil?, written by Peter Hughes a former executive at natural gas giant BG Group, address the prospect of falling demand for oil, rather than fears over dwindling supplies. It suggests that a mixture of drivers is forcing a broad policy change that will continue to reduce consumption. Fears over climate change, security of supply, and price volatility, will form a holy trinity to drive policy redirection, he said.

*** A Greenswell of Support for A Carbon Tax to Address Climate Change

http://www.climatetaskforce.org/2009/02/a-greenswell-of-support-for-a-carbon-tax-to-address-climate-change/
US CLIMATE TASK FORCE: The climate policy debate has been making headlines this week. News outlets have been buzzing with increased support for a carbon tax by high-profile leaders in the climate change community. While this policy's growing profile hasn't been warmly received yet on Capitol Hill, more officials and the public are embracing it.

Take, for instance, the remarks made last week by Energy Secretary Chu that indicated his support of a carbon tax in lieu of cap-and-trade. Even though his comments struck a chord with voters — sparking a regular greenswell of support — Beltway pundits have labeled Chu's statement a political "gaffe." In yesterday's ClimateWire, political analyst Thomas Mann explained:

What he said originally meets the classic definition of a gaffe: a politically awkward truth widely acknowledged by experts but one not yet allowable in the political arena … Cap and trade has the virtue of obscuring the costs of carbon reduction in a way that a carbon tax does not.

Quick References: Cap and Trade vs. Carbon Tax [Note: SL sees no clear choice yet on this issue.]

http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2009/02/19/quick-references-cap-and-trade-vs-carbon-tax/

CLIMATE 411: I posted earlier this month about quick reference sheets we're putting together to cover points that we often discuss with with Hill staff and reporters. We just added some new ones, and I wanted to highlight a couple for you:

• Cap and trade vs. a carbon tax: Why a cap is more effective and cheaper
• How cap and trade works: It's simpler than many people think

Again, I hope you also find these summaries useful, and we appreciate suggestions for additions and updates.

South Africa’s path on the steep and rocky road to Copenhagen

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/south-africas-path-on-the-steep-and-rocky-road-to-copenhagen-2009-02-20
ENGINEERING NEWS: The stage has been set for what could be dramatic climate-change nego- tiations at the fifteenth United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December. However, whether the key actors will show moral courage and rectitude, or whether they will allow the talks to descend into tragedy, or even a farce, is still far from certain.

Coal-Fired Power Plants Will Need Better Carbon Capture and Storage Technology

SCI AM: As the development of new coal-fired power plants is slowing amid growing opposition, utility executives say development of carbon capture-and-storage technologies will play a major role in the industry's long-term viability.

"We have to be able to advance that technology for future coal plants to be built," said Nick Akins, the executive vice president for generation at utility giant American Electric Power Co. Inc., which relies heavily on coal. "We have to answer the carbon capture and storage equation to keep coal in the picture."

EPA Sues Louisiana Coal-Fired Power Plant to Install Required Pollution Controls, Seeks Civil Damages

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/02/epa-sues-louisiana-generating-to-install-required-pollution-controls.php
TREEHUGGER: Yesterday Brian asked whether the new EPA will be tougher on coal and, seemingly on clockwork, the EPA answered: Announcing that it would be filing a lawsuit against Louisiana Generating, a subsidiary of NRG Energy for violations of the Clean Air Act. While not the greater move to regulate carbon emissions that many are hoping will come out of the EPA on Lisa Jackson's watch, but nevertheless it's a step in the right direction. Here are the details of the suit:

AES dumps coal-fired plant plans; environmental groups respond. [Atleast SOMEONE is working for humanity.]

http://www.sequoyahcountytimes.com/pages/full_story?page_label=home&id=1972726&widget=push&article-AES-dumps-coal-fired-plant-plans-environmental-groups-respond%20=&instance=home_news_bullets&open=&
SEQUOYAH TIMES: AES, which operates a coal-fired power plant at Shady Point south of Sallisaw on U.S. Highway 59, has withdrawn its application for an air permit application from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, and apparently discarded plans to build a bigger plant.

The expansion of the new coal-fired generation plant was opposed by several environmental groups, including the Sequoyah County Clean Air Coalition.

New regulations could cost coal plant $2.8B

Http://www.wxvt.com/Global/story.asp?S=9875275&nav=menu1344_2
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A new study by opponents of a coal-fired power plant in southwestern Arkansas say new federal regulations could make it cost another $2.8 billion over 40 years.

TVA: Coal Ash Spill to Cost Up to $800 Million to Clean

DN! The Tennessee Valley Authority says it may cost over $800 million to clean up last year's massive coal ash spill at a Tennessee coal plant. 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash sludge spilled from a containment pond, flooding homes and nearby water sources.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/2/13/headlines

Anti-coal activists get a boost from Tennessee ash spill and other mishaps. ["A crisis is a terrible thing to waste." Obama]

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2009/2/19/123416/507
GRIST: The past two months have been a public relations nightmare for the coal industry. First there was the Tennessee spill shortly before Christmas. On New Year's Day, a coal train derailed in Otero County, Colo. On Jan. 9, a leak at a second TVA waste pond at the unfortunately named Widows Creek Power Plant in northeastern Alabama spilled some 10,000 gallons of gypsum slurry, the same day that a coal train operated by National Coal Corporation overturned, dumping 1,100 tons of coal along the New River in Scott County, Tenn. TVA took another hit on Jan. 13 when a U.S. district court judge in North Carolina ruled that four of its coal plants in Alabama and Tennessee are a public health nuisance and need to be cleaned up.

On the political front, the news has been just as bad, thanks in large part to the new Obama administration.

****Obama [has a DANGEROUSLY] rising tide of dangers around him.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/022009.html
CONSORTIUMNEWS: Only one month into his presidency, Barack Obama is finding himself confronting not only George W. Bush's left-behind crises but an array of influential enemies in the military, financial circles, the political world and the media – determined to thwart Obama's agenda for "change." Though Obama has maintained his trademark equanimity in the face of this resistance, he appears to be sensing the rising tide of dangers around him.

N.Y.U. Students Continue Occupation to Press Demands

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/nyregion/20nyu.html?ref=education
NYT: students who had barricaded themselves in a third-floor cafeteria on Wednesday night vowed on Thursday to continue their occupation until they were able to present a list of demands to school administrators.

A surge of new protesters pushed their way past security guards and into the cafeteria about 9 p.m., according to students who were contacted on their cellphones. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8GSar-dFTY