Determined journalist from Renewable Energy World takes the time in a long form NPR/radio style podcast to dig into this important topic.   If you are deeply ideologically committed to either “cap and trade” or to a carbon tax you should not listen to the last 5 or 10 minutes – or maybe you should . . .

Former NY Times Reporter Andrew Revkin – now Senior Fellow at the Pace University Center for Applied Environmental Studies while still writing and moderating the NY Times Dot Earth blog – provides a good overview of how the media has fundamentally under reported the climate story drawing upon this cool diagram.

This is the challenge of addressing such a large and systemic problem – how do we sustain focus, interest and energy around an issue that by definition is global, long term, pervasive and does not have a signal moment of crisis.

As the dust settles after the turbulent outcome of the COP-15 climate summit in Copenhagen a few things are clear:

No one is completely happy with the outcome.  Even President Obama described what he hammered out as being a “first step” and “not enough” to avoid disaster describing the Accord he worked out as the beginning of a process.

The climate change denier community (and people playing that role in the US, Europe, Israel, etc… should be very nervous about the fact they are in close alliance with Saudia Arabia) must be upset at the reaffirmation  that greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced in order to avoid  dangerous global warming – a conclusion that relies upon the mountain of science showing that global warming is very real and very dangerous.

Some leading voices like Joe Romm and commentators share the “glass 2/3′s full” interpretation of the Copenhagen Accord presented by the President and applaud the fact that Accord was worked out by the U.S. and China (with Brazil, India and South Africa) and then embraced by others – seeing it as a good thing for international climate discussions and negotiations to be headed down a new path of bi-lateral discussions between large emitters and among smaller groups of nations and away from the UN structure that has been in place since the 1992 Rio Summit.  Robert Stavins at Harvard University and David Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council argue that the UN process can and will continue augmented by these new side negotiations.  (Update 1/7/2010 – Robert Stavins has developed this argument even farther.)

Other important voices like Bill McKibben see this change in the process and nature of climate negotiations as a disaster – part of a complete collapse of political and moral will by a President and Administration that should know better.  A related perspective is the view that the Copenhagen outcome shows that the “the elites are not up to the job of saving the world.” Follow the links in that last piece if you want to see some really terrifying analysis of the world that we are headed to if only current pledges and agreements for emissions reductions are met.

To hear these two different interpretations collide check out McKibben and Doniger on the “On Point” public radio show on December 22, 2009.

And what Andrew Revkin calls the “Copenhagen blame game” is now a full scale global enterprise.  With British Columnist George Monbiot blaming the US (and President Obama) personally, Chinese and British officials savagely attacking each other in the press on the question of China’s role at Copenhagen and officials of the European Union laying blame on the developing nations and the US.

So what do we know and what should we (those of us not playing in the titanic global climate game) do?

The answer for CLF is clear.  We need to continue with our work to make New England, the region in which we work, a replicable model of real and affirmative change for the better.  We need to purge our electricity system of old, high emissions coal fired power plants, we need to fight to make highly efficient use of energy in homes and buildings, we need to ensure that our forests are healthy and do their many jobs, including capturing carbon out of the air, and we need to foster clean effective transit and massive deployment of renewable energy.   Our goals are right out there for all to see as is the way in which you can support our work.

Clearly there is a powerful need for global and national action to protect our climate.   And while those epic struggles play out, and we do what we can to shape the outcome, we must not waver in our resolve to advance a climate protection agenda here in our region, our states and in our communities.  We can argue about how far we have come – but it is very clear that we have far to go.

So, what do we do? There’s no simple solution, but in Massachusetts the DEP is close to finalizing the revision for the Solid Waste Master Plan, with the intention of increasing the amount of waste diverted from landfills through more recycling and composting, and better all around materials management. The discussion also included the possibility of lifting a 20-year old moratorium on waste-to-energy facilities.

Today the Patrick Administration signaled a strong commitment to responsible resource management by announcing that the incinerator moratorium will stand and resources will begin to be managed more thoughtfully.

This is exciting news, because there are a lot of good options for responsible resource management that don’t involve traditional waste incineration. These include:

• Developing markets for recycled and reused materials, including building materials and asphalt as well as more traditional materials such as plastics, metals, and paper – a lot of our recyclables are currently bundled and sent to Canada and China rather than being processed and reused locally.
• Establishing state incentive programs to encourage the separation of organic material from the waste stream – organics decay in landfills and generate methane; food discards in particular are a valuable for compost and anaerobic digestion, and should not be equated with waste.
• Expanding organic material processing capacity in the form of properly managed composting operations and/or appropriately-sized anaerobic digestion facilities – Anaerobic digestion can be used for energy generation.
• Developing markets for organic material products, such as compost and other soil amendments – did you know the MWRA uses anaerobic digestion at Deer Island to process Boston area sewage, and subsequently processes the sludge into a fertilizer product?

Resource management solutions will need to protect environmental and human health, as well as be economically viable and socially acceptable.  Thankfully the Commonwealth appears to be on the right track.

Do our readers agree?

Well worth a listen.  Sue discusses recent big news about Cape Wind. 

WBZ Radio Logo

Contact: Sue Reid, CLF Senior Attorney (617) 850-1740, sreid@clf.org
Karen Wood, Director of Communications (617) 850-1722, kwood@clf.org

Today marks a critical milestone for the 130-turbine Cape Wind offshore wind energy project as the project has reached an agreement with electric utility National Grid, in consultation with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, to negotiate a long-term commitment for the purchase of the project’s power. Cape Wind is one of New England’s most promising solutions for addressing climate change and reducing the region’s dependence on polluting fossil fuels.

“By committing to ensure that Cape Wind’s emissions-free energy will be delivered to tens of thousands of Massachusetts homes and businesses, Cape Wind, National Grid and the Patrick Administration are leading the way to a clean energy future,” said CLF President John Kassel.

CLF has been working across New England for more than fifteen years to promote long-term commitments for the purchase of renewable energy, like the one that is now expected for Cape Wind. Such agreements often provide critical support for the financing of renewable energy projects while also providing stable energy prices to electric customers for years to come, taking energy bills off the fossil fuel roller coaster.

Pretty amazing turnout at the American Wind Energy Association Offshore Wind Energy Workshop in Boston.   This is a very big room – and it has a A LOT of people in it.  Apparently pre-registration was over 650 people and more were registering at the door.

One of the two keynote speakers was the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles (pinch hitting for Governor Deval Patrick who evidently is still “under the weather“) who alluded to the newspaper reports this morning about the announcement to be made today about Cape Wind.

Update: Here is the announcement from the Governor’s office. Read CLF’s statement.

Could a little paint and elbow grease fix this baby right up and get it ready for the coast of Florida?

Looking for the perfect holiday gift for the special do-it-yourselfer roughneck in your life? Here is a rare deal for you. Now that the Montara drilling platform in the remote Timor Sea is just a smoldering wreck its likely to be on the market soon at bargain prices. They say it couldn’t fail, but this low mileage, state-of-the-art, everything but fire-proof deep sea drill rig set the international oil cartels abuzz with its flamboyant four day blaze that rendered the quarter-billion dollar roman candle into an island of charred and twisted metal. In fact, everyone but the American media seemed to follow the story of the three month long oil spill that preceded the grand finale inferno. 

Actually, I don’t know what the future holds for the Montara rig (also referred to as “West Atlas” in some reports) but there has to be a few options that are better than spending more millions to put it back into the drilling business. How about using it as a movie set for the next dozen apocalyptic action thrillers? What about doing something useful such as recycling the rig into wind turbines? Or, is that too practical? Yeah, probably.

 Well, maybe it could be designated as a “Monument to Hubris and Stupidity” and at least pulled out of the water to rust away on shore.

The Boston Common has a long history as a place  where social activism and change can flourish.  It is therefore not surprising that  Massachusetts college based climate activists chose this most historic of public spaces for a “Sleep Out”  since the Common is right in front of the Massachusetts State House and this particular campaign is focused on provoking legislative action in favor of clean energy.

These activists, and prominent guests and supporters like Dr. James Hansen the most prominent climate science in the United States, made the decision to stick out on the Common through the night despite the Boston Police showing up to issue citations for being in the Common after the 11 PM “closure” of the park.

The number of people who are willing to publicly call for civil disobedience of this type is far greater than those willing to undertake it.  The willingness of these activists to take a stand, despite negative consequences, is worth noting.

As a poet of an earlier generation noted “Things fall apart; the centre can not hold” when “The best lack all conviction while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.”  It is always a good sign when the situation goes the other way; when good intentions and goals are found among those who are full of passionate intensity.