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

Solar Fiesta This Weekend, Go Green Action Tips

This weekend, Sept. 26-27, 2009, the NM Solar Energy Association holds their Solar Fiesta! 10 am-5 pm each day at Highland High School in Albuquerque, you can learn everything about solar energy, from how to cook in a solar oven to how to have a full-scale photovoltaic system installed on your house. A photovoltaic system will convert the sun's energy to electricity for you to use! Photovoltaic systems and solar heating and hot water systems also qualify you for significant state and federal tax credits. Free workshops at 9 each morning teach you how to make your home more comfortable and lower your energy bills while lowering your contribution to global warming. Find out more by clicking here.

The NM Environment Department hosts Go Green Action Tips, a series of audio clips covering a wide range of topics, including water pollution prevention, limiting your mercury exposure, and a Green Vehicle Guide. Did you know that you shouldn't dispose of fluorescent light bulbs in the trash? They can be brought to the Buckman Road Recycling and Transfer Station for recycling seven days a week, 8 am to 5 p.m., free for Santa Fe County residents. Or save them for your local household hazardous waste collection day. Each bulb has a small amount of mercury in it, and this mercury is released to the environment if the bulbs are disposed of in the trash. The mercury from the large number of compact fluorescent light bulbs now in use could be a significant threat to the environment. However, the amount of mercury released from burning coal for electricity to power the same number of incandescent light bulbs would be six times as great, and the amount of electricity used would be four times as great, according to Progress Energy, a company that owns two electric utilities. Since 57% of our electricity comes from coal, the mercury savings from using fluorescent bulbs are clearly significant.
Send me your ideas and questions about reducing our carbon footprint, and
Stay cool,
Bonney

The Age of Stupid

Just a quick note on a couple of upcoming events. The Age of Stupid, a combination documentary-drama told from the perspective of one of the survivors of the human race in 2055, will premiere this Monday, Sept. 21 in 440 theaters nationwide, including two in Albuquerque. Beamed live from a solar tent in New York, the event will feature a discussion with scientists, political figures, and celebrities as well as the movie. The next day, Sept. 22, 80 heads of state will meet in NY for a climate change summit to focus on the need to achieve an ambitious agreement at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. Starring Pete Postlethwaite (The Constant Gardener, The Shipping News), "The Age of Stupid, directed by Franny Armstrong, will be taken by some as an emergency wake-up call to do everything possible to avert impending catastrophe," according to The New York Times movie review. See details and buy tickets here. If you'd like to see it in Albuquerque, comment here to set up a carpool.

On October 24, 350.org is inviting people around the planet to hold events publicizing the need to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million in order for conditions on the planet to be similar to those that have sustained civilization and life on Earth. These events will be a message to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December that there is widespread support for ambitious goals to reduce CO2 to levels that support the planet's ecosystems and civilizations. There are a couple of events registered in Santa Fe--can you join me in helping at least one of them get some attention for this critical problem? Or organize an event in your community! Send us your thoughts!
Stay cool,
Bonney

I've got two interesting things to share with you today. One of them is actually kind of fun! It's a campaign called So Much To Save. Click here to take at least one of five easy actions to reduce your impact on the planet, and get a free download of the So Much to Save album featuring Dave Matthews Band! Action #4 specifically addresses climate change. When you click on "Review Companies," it lets you download a pocket guide that rates companies on how well they're reducing climate change compared to their competitors. You can carry it with you to help you decide what companies to support for everything from household cleaners to banking. The pocket guide is compiled by ClimateCounts.org, a site you might want to check for more detailed info on what companies are doing about global warming.

You also might want to read an article from the online version of Der Spiegel, one of Europe's largest weekly news magazines. Click here to read Spiegel's interview of Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, a world famous physicist, climate researcher, professor, and the German government's top adviser on climate. Schellnhuber says that even Germany's targets for CO2 reduction aren't enough, and tells how even greater reductions can be achieved. In response to the interviewer's question of whether he's an idealist, he says: "The WBGU is not political; we merely advise the government and present our studies and findings to the public. Our budget has nothing to do with utopias but rather with the physical conditions under which we can prevent our civilization from crumbling." It's interesting to read articles from Europe, where there's really not much debate on climate change, except how to reduce it. Remember, humanity has come through many challenges; let's keep each other informed and encouraged to take action to meet this one. Send me your thoughts and actions by commenting below, and

Stay cool,

Bonney

Don't let them forget

Sorry about my 2-week hiatus! I thought I'd be able to post before my vacation, but no. We took the train as we have many times, and it's a great way to travel.

We need to remind our Congressional representatives and Senators that as important as health care is, they can't forget about the critical American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES for short). ACES, the first national bill that would curb global warming, passed the House on June 26, 2009. Now we need the Senate to pass it. (Obama will sign it if it passes.) The bill needs strengthening, but there's a lot of pressure on the Senate to weaken it further. Please, click here to find your Senators and either attend a town hall meeting or contact them directly to pass as strong a version of ACES as possible. Or, click here to send an email.

The fossil fuel industry is throwing a lot of money and influence into opposing this bill. The idea isn't to eliminate the use of fossil fuels anytime soon--we don't have enough alternatives developed yet. It's to develop incentives for reducing our output of greenhouse gases and develop alternative energy sources that would also provide jobs so that we can fight global warming, which threatens to make all our other problems seem insignificant. Serious effects are already being felt, and the consequences of business as usual would be dire for the human species as well as many others. Because of delays that are built into Earth's climate system, if we wait to act until the most serious consequences arrive, it will be too late to reverse them. We need to act now to prevent the worst consequences of global warming from happening. Let me know what you're doing to reduce global warming!
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