John Miedema
From climate solutions Facebook page – if you have a facebook account – you should like their page-- it is a great source of information and a hard working group of people.
John
Oregon and northwest neighbors must decide wisely on coal export proposals
— filed under: home, Washington, Oregon
April 29, 2012
Photo by Paul K. Anderson
It was
only a matter of time before a local leader willing to look at the big picture
on coal exports stood up and said, in so many words: Wait a minute, are we sure
about this?
Gov. John Kitzhaber did just that last week, when he asked federal agencies to
conduct an integrated review of several proposals to turn Oregon
and Washington
ports into Asian supply hubs for American coal.
Kitzhaber questioned whether mile-long coal trains from Montana
and Wyoming
wouldn't jam up and pollute the region with unhealthy coal dust and diesel particulates.
More significantly, he asked the Bureau
of Land Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to
explain how boosted coal exports to Asia fits
"the larger strategy of moving to a lower carbon future."
That's a polite way of expressing frustration that Oregon could find itself
helping China and others become more coal-dependent while the state works hard
to cut its own greenhouse gas emissions by phasing coal out.
Document Actions
The death of public support for global warming action is greatly exaggerated
— filed under: home
By Ruy Teixeira
Think Progress
April 30, 2012
Photo by Rachel Walburn
President Barack Obama recently observed that tackling climate change remains
vitally important despite difficulties moving legislation forward. Conservatives,
of course, are trying their utmost to remove the issue permanently from
political discussion, claiming that the public is tired of the debate and no
longer has an appetite for combating global warming.
But a just-released poll from the Yale and George Mason climate change communication programs reveals the lie in this claim. 63 percent of respondents said the United States should move forward to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, regardless of what other countries do, compared to 3 percent who said we should await action by industrialized countries, 8 percent who said we should wait for both industrialized and developing countries to move, and 5 percent who said we shouldn’t bother reducing emissions.
In the same poll, the public supported — by a margin of 63 percent to 37 percent — requiring electric utilities to produce at least 20 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources, even if that would cost the average household an extra $100 per year.
John Miedema
Director of Biomass Energy
Thompson Timber Company
Wk cell 541-740-3652
Terry Mock
John,
Good to see you widen the subject matter. Biochar must fit into a broader energy and climate change discussion.
Terry
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