Operation Climate Vote and ECI Teleconference

Sorry to have been absent for so long! Many of you know I had a bicycling accident Jan. 12 and was laid up for a couple of weeks. I'm much better now--thanks for all your calls, emails, thoughts and prayers. Fortunately, no car was involved--I just fell, apparently.
Here's a couple of things we can do right now about climate change. Go here to join the Environmental Defense Action Fund's 100,000 letters campaign for a strong climate action bill to pass the Senate. They have 50,000 letters already-let's help them get the rest of the way by writing letters and spreading the word about their campaign.
The other thing we can do is to get in on a teleconference the Evangelical Climate Initiative is having on Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 11 am Eastern Time. The conference call will feature a preview of what could happen this Spring regarding climate change legislation and how we can help. If you're interested, email alaushkin@creationcare.org to find out more or RSVP for the teleconference. I'm interested just to find out what the Evangelical Climate Initiative is, but I have to work then. If you find out more, let us know by leaving a comment. Be careful out there, and
Stay cool,
Bonney

International Day of Climate Action October 24

"As far as we can tell, you'll be part of the single most widespread day of political action about any issue that our planet has ever seen," if you join the nearest 350.org action. So says Bill McKibben, the influential environmentalist and writer who started the 350 campaign, and with good reason. The International Day of Climate Action and 350.org broadcast the message that we have to limit CO2 (carbon dioxide) to 350 ppm (parts per million) in the atmosphere in order to maintain the planet close to the way it's been as civilization has evolved. This is a stiff challenge, as CO2 levels are currently at 390 ppm. However, there will be over 4,000 events in over 175 countries October 24 to bring the message to world leaders that we want a strong new treaty to limit climate change when they gather in Copenhagen in December. Click on this link and scroll down to see some great photos of the actions that are already happening around the world: 350.org. Also follow that link to join an action in your community.

In Santa Fe, meet at the Center for Contemporary Art, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, at 1 p.m. (noon if you want to volunteer) for a human 350 postcard photo, march to the Roundhouse and rally. Bring signs that say 350, ride your bike or the bus as far as you can, and wear green or blue. Click here for more info. See you there!

I'll continue countering myths next week.

Stay cool,
Bonney

October 24th World Climate Action Day

On October 24, 2009, there will be actions all over the world to let leaders know that we want serious action on global warming! Click here to find an action in your area. In Santa Fe, people from nonprofits, schools, and with no affiliation are meeting at 1 p.m. at the Center for Contemporary Arts, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, for a human postcard photo, march to the Roundhouse and rally until 4 p.m. Ride your bike or take the bus as far as you can to get there (I plan to do both)! Global leaders are meeting in Copenhagen in December to write a new climate treaty to replace the Kyoto agreement. Recent talks leading up to this meeting ended without much agreement, so our voices are needed to show leaders how important this is. The US, although the second-largest producer of greenhouse gases overall and per capita, does not participate in the Kyoto treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions, which 192 countries have signed, so we in the US especially need to make our voices heard.

I'll be participating in an adult education forum on global warming and reducing our carbon footprint at the United Church of Santa Fe with two other members of the church at 9:45 a.m. this Sunday, October 11. Come if you can, send me your comments, and
Stay cool,
Bonney

Good news! While the country's been preoccupied with health care debate (a very important topic), the Senate has still been working on ACES (the American Clean Energy and Security Act), the global warming reduction bill that passed the House earlier this year. A draft of the bill the Senate is working on calls for deeper reductions than the House version--20% by 2020. This is just a draft, however, and the Senate is already subject to strong lobbying by the fossil fuel industry and others to weaken the bill. Please, if you haven't already, contact your Senators and urge them to enact the strongest possible bill that includes a cap-and-trade system for limiting carbon emissions. Cap-and-trade has proven successful in Europe, despite coverage in the US to the contrary. See my August 28 post for more information on this bill. Contact your Senators here. Tell them what you're doing to reduce global warming, and that you expect the government to do its part, too.

I ride the bus twice a week and ride my bike home from work those days to reduce global warming and to get exercise. It was hard to get started, but it's been fun to actually do! Today I got a ride to the Chavez Center from Hank, rode my bike to the coffee shop to do this, and am taking the bus & bike home. It's fun to get out in the community rather than spending time alone in the car or at home. Also, my internet is down (equipment failure)! We should have it up again within a couple of days, so send me your thoughts and
Stay cool,
Bonney

Is "Cash for Clunkers" Good for the Environment?

There's been a lot of publicity about the cash for clunkers program - the government program that pays you to trade in an older vehicle getting less than 18 mpg for a new one that gets at least 22 mpg. But does the program really reduce global warming? The answer is: a very small amount. The problem isn't that the concept is bad, it just doesn't go far enough. But it still makes sense for most individuals to get rid of an old gas-guzzling clunker for a vehicle that getssignificantly more miles to the gallon.

Making a new car produces greenhouse gases, of course. If you trade in a clunker getting 18 mpg for a new car getting 22 mpg, it would take about 5 1/2 years of average driving to save the amount of greenhouse gases that went into manufacturing the new car, according to the dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, William Chameides, quoted on NPR here. After that, you would be reducing your carbon footprint. With trucks, it might take eight or nine years, Chameides says (trucks usually have more material in them and more greenhouse gases are produced in their manufacture). With the median age of cars on the road in the US older than ever at 9.4 years, and some of the new cars purchased getting more than 22 mpg, the net result is positive. However, the Associated Press calculated that the greenhouse gas savings from this year's cash to clunkers program would reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by only a few hundredths of a percent, assuming 500,000 to 750,000 of the 260 million vehicles on the road in the US are traded in.

If you traded in a 20-mpg car for a 50 mpg hybrid, however, you'd make up for the greenhouse gases produced in manufacture in 20 months, according to Gil Friend of ClimateBiz. The greater the difference between the fuel economy of the old car and the fuel economy of the new car, the greater the savings in greenhouse gases. The longer you keep your new car the better for the environment, until there are newer cars whose efficiency is so great that it makes sense to trade in again. The savings with cash to clunkers is not as great as it could be - the original legislation required new cars purchased to meet stricter mileage standards to qualify - but it's a small step in the right direction. And it definitely makes sense for individuals to junk gas guzzlers and buy the most efficient vehicle they can, with or without a government program.
What's in your garage?
Stay cool,
Bonney

Air Conditioning or Windows Down?

A debate rages about (who would guess?) which uses less gas: rolling down your car windows or turning on your air conditioning. However, all 3 tests I could track to their sources showed that running the air conditioner almost always uses more gas than rolling the windows down. For example, Car and Driver did a test on a sedan (they don't say what model, but the photos are of a small sedan) in which running the a/c reduced fuel efficiency by 15% at 35 mph, whereas opening the windows decreased it by only 1.5%. At 75 mph, running the a/c decreased miles per gallon by 6.8% vs. 2% for windows, and results at 55 mph were in between (losses for a/c decrease at higher speeds because the engine is producing more power.)

Consumer Reports findings for a Camry were less dramatic: using a/c at 65 mph decreased the car's fuel efficiency by 1%, whereas rolling windows down at that speed had no measurable effect on fuel economy. A third study by the Society of Automotive Engineers shows that while the results are closer for a sedan, both the sedan and the SUV used more gas with the a/c on than with windows down at speeds of 30, 50, and 68 mph when the temperature was 86F. Bottom line: minimize your use of air conditioning, especially when you're tooling around town. Keep in mind, too, when you ride the bus or train, you can enjoy A/C guilt-free, and bicycling creates its own cooling!

Comment with your thoughts, and stay cool!
Bonney

Reduce Your Vacation Footprint

Since it's vacation time, here's a comparison of different modes of travel and their carbon footprints by Sightline.org, a non-profit think tank. SUV's with a solo driver produce the most CO2 per passenger per mile, followed by regular cars, airplanes, hybrid cars, cars with 3 riders, buses, and then trains, which produce the least CO2 per passenger mile except for walking or biking.

There's a lot of variability in the amount of fuel airplanes use, so use the World Wildlife Fund Travel Helper to decide what's the best way to get to your particular destination (even though it says Europe, it works for US destinations too). Then you can use a site like the Terrapass Calculator or Travelocity's Go Zero program to make a donation to a program that's reducing emissions. That way, you'll offset the emissions you produce with your travel. You can get to Terrapass and Go Zero at the very bottom of Carbonless Copy's home page. Atmosfair.com is another site that sells offsets.

Of course, a lot of people are staying home this summer, and that's the most carbon-conserving of all! Let me know how you're reducing your greenhouse gas emissions, and
Stay cool,
Bonney

Pay As You Drive

Remember my post a few weeks ago on car insurance that costs less if you drive less? Turns out several companies are offering it around the nation. The Environmental Defense Fund offers a good overview here. The Brookings Institution reported that if all American drivers had pay-as-you-drive insurance, we'd drive 8 percent less, total US CO2 emissions would go down by 2% and oil consumption by 4%, and two-thirds of households would pay an average of $270 less per car for auto insurance. Here are the programs I found:

• Owners of GM cars with OnStar can get discounts for driving less through insurer GMAC in 47 out of 50 states. Click here for info.
  
• Progressive offers pay-as-you-drive discounts in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey and Oregon.
• Texas is the first state to offer insurance that's charged per mile you drive, allowing you to get the full benefit of driving less, through MileMeter. Go, neighbor!
  
• In Massachusetts, the Environmental Insurance Agency offers a policy through Plymouth Rock that rewards you for driving less. EIA is owned by the Conservation Law Foundation, which has spent decades protecting the environment in New England.
  
• The Federal Highway Administrations Value Pricing Program is launching a PAYD pilot program in Georgia.
  

Post your experiences with any PAYD program, or any other global warming solutions!

Stay cool,
Bonney

I'd love to hear your ideas for reducing your carbon footprint. Here's an idea from Washington State: get your state senator or rep to introduce legislation that allows car insurance companies to charge people based on how many miles they drive. That would provide an incentive to people to reduce their carbon impact by charging less for insurance for those who drive fewer miles. Read more about it here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008713468_greeninsurance06m.html. (BTW, the article features my sister Polly. Read it for inspiration!) It does raise some privacy concerns. Would you be willing to have the number of miles you drive monitored in order to save money on insurance and provide extra motivation for driving less? I would.

There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about global warming. You can find some of them at the sites listed to the right. I'm far from perfect in trying to reduce my carbon footprint, but I've found that when I can do something, it turns out to be worthwhile even besides the benefit of reducing CO2.

Take riding the bus (please). That's something I thought would be a chore here in Santa Fe, NM, where public transportation is a bit sketchy, but turns out it's more of an adventure. It does involve getting up about 45 minutes earlier, and we have to walk or bike a mile and a half to the closest bus stop, but that's kind of fun. Not only do I get some exercise, it's a pleasant scramble across an arroyo and some more-or-less natural high desert terrain.

A couple of weeks ago, I read about a young woman who died after stealing a car. She was being chased by the police, tried to pass another vehicle, and ran head on into a crane. I didn't think too much about it, except to feel sad about a senseless death. A couple of guys got on the bus a couple days later, and one of them started talking to me, mentioning that they were from Santo Domingo Pueblo. After a few minutes, he pulled a ring out of his pocket. "Did you read about that girl that got killed when she crashed into a crane? She was a friend of ours. This is her ring. We're trying to get back to Santo Domingo to bury it."

You may think you're helping prevent climate change, and you are, but it turns out you're getting even more than you bargained for.